Pursuing Perfection - Participating Partners
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 Family Care Network
(FCN) is a multisite group practice consisting of 38 physicians and 8
mid-levels practicing family medicine. FCN evolved from an IPA 3 years ago
to form our group, and co-formed a management organization with St. Joseph
Hospital (Compass) to provide administrative services. Their mission is to
provide high quality, cost effective primary care services to patients of
Whatcom County. FCN currently serve over 80,000 patients of all ages (33%
under age 25, 55% age 25-64, 12% over age 65). FCN conducts an internal
chart audits with specific quality criteria, participates in NCQA and
preventive quality reviews by Group Health and Regence BlueShield (formerly)
NWMB. As part of
their quality journey, FCN leadership has participated in IHI, sits on the
AAFP Commission on Quality and Scope of Practice, the AAFP Fundamentals of
Management Faculty, and has participated in the Intermountain Health Care
Advanced Training Program. Pilot Projects on diabetes, anticoagulation and
Congestive Heart Failure management program have been undertaken. All three
of these projects have decreased the admission rate for complications of the
associated diseases. There have been nine additional projects in the past
three years at FCN. They include hypertension identification, immunizations,
endoscopy referral and focus on both prevention and improvement of care
initiatives.
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Group Health
is
A nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. Group Health Cooperative (1947) includes hospitals and medical centers; an associated 1,050-physician group practice; the Northwest's largest HMO; a subsidiary that offers what was the region's first point-of-service plan; a research center; and a charitable foundation. Headquarters: Seattle, Washington. |
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A consumer-governed organization with a governance structure based on cooperative principles. Group Health is the nation's largest consumer-governed health care system. Group Health and the associated Sandy McColl Institute have done pioneering work in patient-centered chronic care. | |||||||||
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 North Cascade Cardiology
(NCC) is committed to providing excellence in
cardiology care delivered in a professional environment of caring,
compassion and respect for our patients and co-workers. Started as a
cardiology specialty practice in 1975, NCC has 6 cardiologists with plans
for expansion. They primarily serve the NW Washington population regardless
of color, ancestry, religion or ability to pay. NCC participates in
national and state databases including NRMI and COPE and has been part of
several national investigational studies in cardiology. NCC has provided
leadership in Whatcom Medical Society, St. Joseph Hospital board, Whatcom
Medical Bureau Board, NW Medical Bureau Board and state ACC. In the last
year, they have served a population of 499 CHF patients in the clinic
setting and 178 patients in the hospital setting. They have provided
leadership on the Core and CEO teams in the planning of this grant.
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 St. Joseph Hospital
is committed to the PeaceHealth mission: to carry on the healing
ministry of Jesus Christ by promoting personal and community health,
relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and
caring way. Likewise, the St. Joseph strategic plan embodies
PeaceHealth's clinical quality vision principles, which call for: 1)
patient centered and family friendly healing culture; 2) collaborating
with our communities to measure and improve health; 3) innovation to
achieve superior clinical/operational outcomes; 4) financial health,
maintaining a substantial market presence in market areas; 5) a learning
organization that adds value by achieving best practices/standardization;
6) Continually improving access to car; 7) Promoting coordinated/seamless
health car; and 8) Creating a satisfying environment for employees and
physicians. St. Joseph Hospital has 253 licensed beds, and its FY 2000
budget totaled $127 million. St. Joseph is a full service acute care
facility with nearly 1,700 FTE employees and 13,000 inpatient discharges
(average 4.1 day LOS). St. Joseph Hospital has served the Whatcom Region
since 1891. St. Joseph Hospital's Center for Senior Health is "just for seniors!" - particularly those who do not currently have a Primary Care Physician. This primary medical clinic is designed for geriatric patients. The model of care incorporates a multi-disciplinary team composed of a geriatric physician, RN, social worker, dietician and pharmacist.
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 Regence BlueShield
has been
providing health care coverage to Washington residents for more than 80
years and is the state’s leading health care service contractor, serving
more than 1.1 million members. In Whatcom County, Regence BlueShield covers
43,000 lives.
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 Community Health Plan of Washington
(CHPW) is the state’s largest managed care provider for the state’s
Basic Health Plan. It also is
one of the major providers for the Medicaid Healthy Options plan. CHPW provide high quality healthcare services that are
accessible and affordable to all Washington residents, including those most
in need.
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 Sea Mar Community Health Centers
were founded by a group of
Hispanic health activists in 1978 to serve the low income, underserved,
uninsured communities of western Washington with emphasis on the Hispanic
population. As a community-based organization, their mission is to provide
quality, comprehensive health and human services to diverse communities,
specializing in service to Latinos. Of the 52,268 patients served in 2000, 56%
were Hispanic. In Whatcom County, they have 2 medical clinics with 6 family
physicians and 2 physician extenders. They have a high percentage of bilingual
staff with an emphasis on cultural competency. They utilize a sliding fee scale
for the uninsured population based on family size and income. Sea Mar Community
Health Center is JCAHO accredited and has an active QI Program with monthly
clinical audits. In Bellingham, they also have a dietitian, health
educator, maternity support services, dental program, outpatient mental health
and both an inpatient/outpatient substance abuse program and an outreach medical
screening program for homeless populations. Diabetes Mellitus was the 6th top
diagnoses among patients in 2000. The Whatcom Clinics have worked to refine and
improve their office flow. The have policy to conduct quality improvement audits
on a monthly basis and have a robust quality improvement workplan. Based on a
recent audit of 5 chart/provider, their compliance with diabetic guidelines
varied from 55% for monofilament eye exams to 41% documentation of
self-management plan.
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 Community
Health Improvement Consortium of Whatcom County (CHIC)’s
mission statement is: “We are improving healthcare outcomes in our community
by working on problems that require cooperation, that have high clinical impact
and that are measurable. We will accomplish this mission by adhering to the
following principles—focus on patients and the community, use systems
approach, work together, share idea and share data”. In existence since 1996,
CHIC’s projects have addressed aspects of diabetes, tobacco cessation,
immunization and breast cancer reduction.
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