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Dirigo Health Agency Announces New Acting Director for Maine Quality Forum (4/3/07)
AUGUSTA- Today the Dirigo Health Agency announced the appointment of Dr. Josh Cutler as the acting director of Dirigo Health Agency's Maine Quality Forum (MQF).
“The Maine Quality Forum is a linchpin of the Dirigo Health reform. When quality is at its best, patient care is better and costs are kept in check,” said Governor John Baldacci. “I have known Dr. Cutler for many years and I am delighted to have such a gifted physician serve in this important role.”
The Maine Quality Forum was created as part of Dirigo Health. Its mission is to advocate for high quality health care and help each Maine citizen make informed health care choices. To achieve its mission, the Maine Quality Forum serves as a clearinghouse of best practices and information to improve health, and acts as an informational resource for health care providers and consumers.
Prior to joining the MQF, Dr. Cutler Served on the Hospital Study Commission and the Advisory Council on Health Systems Development, both of which were integral in formulating the State Health Plan
Dr. Robert McAfee, chair of the Dirigo Health Board, said, "Dr. Cutler is widely respected and has been active in a number of important physician and community organizations throughout his distinguished career. His interest in working with his peers to advance quality of care for all our citizens, coupled with his extensive experience and knowledge of Maine's health care system, make him uniquely qualified to lead the Maine Quality Forum.”
A native of Bangor, Dr. Cutler is a cardiologist who has most recently practiced in South Portland with Maine Cardiology Associates and on the staff of Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital. Dr. Cutler received his undergraduate degree from the Harvard University and his M.D. from Duke University.
In a Heartbeat Emphasizes Heart Attack Symptom Awareness and Call 9-1-1 for American Heart Month (2/7/07)
In recognition of American Heart Month (February), In a Heartbeat, a key initiative of the Dirigo Health Agency’s Maine Quality Forum, reminds Mainers that delaying treatment for a heart attack needlessly causes significant damage to the heart and possibly death. “Despite major advances in medicine, far too many Mainers still die or become severely disabled due to heart attacks, because Emergency Care is not being accessed quickly enough” says Dr. Gus Lambrew, Medical Director of the In a Heartbeat initiative and former Senior Advisor for Science and Quality, American College of Cardiology.
The 2005 Maine Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System shows that 88% of Mainers cannot correctly identify the warning signs of a heart attack and the need to call 9-1-1 immediately. According to the Office of Data, Research, and Vital Statistics, heart attacks caused or contributed to 921 Maine resident deaths in 2004. By recognizing the signs of heart attack and calling 9-1-1 immediately after symptoms begin, heart muscle can be saved.
Know the Signs of a Heart Attack
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, while other heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Below are signs of a possible heart attack:
- Chest pain or discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
- Pain or discomfort in the upper body (one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach)
- Shortness of breath
- Breaking out in a cold sweat
- Nausea
- Lightheadedness
Not all of these signs occur in every heart attack, and sometimes symptoms go away and return. Women are somewhat more likely than men to experience shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
Call 9-1-1 immediately: Time lost is heart muscle lost
- Anyone who sees or has any of the listed symptoms should immediately call 9-1-1.
- Studies show that on average only about half of heart attack victims call 9-1-1.
- Many of those who don’t call, either die or lose some of their physical capacity.
“Never feel embarrassed to call 9-1-1. EMS is here to help you,” says Jay Bradshaw, Director, Maine EMS, and In a Heartbeat Executive Committee member. “We know that it can be difficult to know for sure if you or a loved one is having a heart attack, but we want you to call 9-1-1 and call immediately if you have any symptoms. It’s a call your loved ones will thank you for making.”
Today heart attack victims can benefit from new medications and treatments. And by calling 9-1-1, treatment can begin in the ambulance, before you arrive at the hospital. The emergency room and the cardiac team can be alerted and ready for your arrival, saving precious time.
A part of the State Health Plan, In a Heartbeat is a statewide coalition of medical providers, Emergency Medical Services, Maine Center for Disease Control, community outreach and health advocacy organizations, such as the American Heart Association Northeast Affiliate, working to ensure that Mainers having heart attacks receive timely, quality care, regardless of where they live or work, and where they are treated.
Twelve Maine Hospitals Now Share Their Quality Performance and Improvement Data (10/24/06)
(updated from 8/31/06)
The Maine Quality Forum commends the following hospitals for making quality performance and improvement data available on their websites: Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, C.A. Dean Memorial Hospital, Cary Medical Center, Down East Community Hospital, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Franklin Memorial Hospital, Inland Hospital, Maine Medical Center, Riverview Psychiatric Center, St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, Sebasticook Valley Hospital, and The Aroostook Medical Center. The information these hospitals post online allows the public to see how the hospital has performed on quality measures and to compare the hospital’s performance to others, such as the state or national average on each measure.
By making this information readily available to the public, these hospitals demonstrate their commitment to providing higher-quality, safer care to patients, to continually evaluating the quality of care they provide, and to including the people of Maine in the quality improvement process.
Sharing quality performance and improvement data with the public is an important step toward creating a safer, higher-quality system of care.
Links to Maine Hospital Quality Data Websites:
Blue Hill Memorial Hospital Quality & Service Report http://quality.bhmh.org/
C.A. Dean Memorial Hospital Quality & Service Report http://quality.cadean.org/
Cary Medical Center Quality Check www.carymedicalcenter.org/quality/index.html
Down East Commumnity Hospital JCAHO Quality Report http://www.dech.org/docs/JCAHO_Report.pdf
Eastern Maine Medical Center Quality & Service Report http://quality.emmc.org/
Franklin Memorial Hospital Quality Report to the Public http://www.fchn.org/fmh/quality
Inland Hospital Quality Matters Report http://quality.inlandhospital.org/
Maine Medical Center Quality Reporting
http://www.mmc.org/mmc_body.cfm?id=3384
Riverview Psychiatric Center Quarterly Performance Reports http://www.state.me.us/dhhs/riverview/quarterly-report/index.html
St. Mary's Regional Medical Center Quality & Safety http://www.stmarysmaine.com/quality_safety/index.html
Sebasticook Valley Hospital Quality & Service Report http://quality.sebasticookhospital.org/
The Aroostook Medical Center Quality & Service Report http://quality.tamc.org/
MQF Releases RFP #2: Collection and Analysis of Data (In a Heartbeat) (10/26/06)
Click here to download the .pdf file.
The Maine Quality Forum Releases Updated Safety Star Manuals (10/11/06)
The Maine Quality Forum released October 2006 Safety Star Manuals in response to feedback about the need to clarify some of the Safety Star Standards and thresholds. Click here for the Safety Star Manual and here for the Validation Manual.
The Maine Quality Forum Releases Proposed Rules for the Safety Star Program (10/04/06)
Please click here to view the rules.
MQF Adds New In a Heartbeat Webpage (7/11/06)
MQF has created a new webpage about its recently launched In a Heartbeat project. The aim of In a Heartbeat is to improve the quality of care received by heart attack patients and improve patients' quality of life after a heart attack.
Learn more at the In a Heartbeat page.
MQF Releases Updated Safety Star Manuals (3/29/06)
MQF has made some changes to the Safety Star Manuals. Click here for the revised Safety Star Full Manual and here for the updated Safety Star Validation Manual.
Announcing the Launch of the Maine Quality Forum Safety Star Recognition Program (9/14/05)
The Maine Quality Forum wants to recognize hospitals that are working hard to make sure that they provide the safest care possible. The Maine Quality Forum wants the people of Maine to have a way to identify the hospitals that are working to be the safest.
A national organization, The National Quality Forum (NQF), approved 30 standards that make hospitals safer for patients.
The Maine Quality Forum is using NQF’s standards to recognize the hospitals in Maine that meet all of the chosen standards. For example, to receive a Safety Star a hospital must have methods that make sure that they do not the wrong operation, or operate on the wrong part of the body or person.
The Maine Quality Forum, with the help of Maine hospital safety experts, designed a process that confirms that each hospital that displays the Safety Star has embraced fully the safety practices.
Look for the Safety Star at your hospital.
Governor Celebrates Dirigo Health Reform's 2nd Anniversary- Announces New Quality Initiative (9/14/05)
AUGUSTA- Governor Baldacci joined members of the Dirigo Health Agency Board of Directors, the Maine Quality Forum Advisory Council, and other supporters to celebrate the two year anniversary of Dirigo Health Reform becoming law. At the State House ceremony, Dr. Robert McAfee, Chair of the Dirigo Health Agency Board of Directors, and Dr. Dennis Shubert, Director of the Maine Quality Forum also detailed a new quality initiative that furthers the goals of Dirigo Health Reform: to make Maine the healthiest state in the nation through improved access, quality and affordability of health care.
"Today marks a celebration," said the Governor. "Two years ago this week Dirigo Health Reform became law. Since that time, working together, we've seen remarkable success in moving toward our goal of achieving universal access to all Maine people, improving the quality of care delivered to all of us and reducing its costs."
The Governor outlined Dirigo Health Reform's success. DirigoChoice was launched with Anthem as a partner, and the program has grown statewide. The Governor noted, "8,100 people representing over 650 small businesses and 1,300 sole proprietors are proud DirigoChoice participants. Over 3,000 individuals and sole proprietors are on a waiting list that will be opened again for enrollment on January 1st DirigoChoice is working and improving access to health care in Maine."
Dirigo has made considerable strides toward bringing down health care cost growth for all. The Governor focused today on the efforts designed to build on hospitals' leadership to improve patient safety statewide with a new Maine Quality Forum program called the Safety Star Recognition Program.
"We all know that medical errors are a national crisis and Maine is not immune," said the Governor. "Hospital-based mistakes are the 8th leading cause of death in the United States. Last year, in Maine, 15 people died potentially avoidable deaths in our hospitals. Others were the victims of medical mistakes such as surgeries performed on the wrong area."
"Despite these cases, our hospitals have been leaders in working with State government to develop a mandatory reporting system so that when mistakes occur they are documented and we learn from them to improve practices in every hospital in Maine. I applaud the Maine Hospital Association in building safer institutions."
Dr. Dennis Shubert said, "We need to recognize those people and those systems that invest in patient safety. The Safety Star designation will identify hospitals that lead the way in patient safety to potential patients. The Maine Quality Forum, with insight from its Advisory Council and also hospital and nursing representatives, has identified 28 of those safe practices that are part of the Safety Star certification. We are particularly thankful to representatives from the Maine Hospital Association that have helped us tailor this effort to support their own ongoing efforts to improve patient safety within hospitals."
Hospitals that choose to seek Safety Star certification will apply to the Maine Quality Forum. Then, a team of professionals with expertise in health care quality and safety will verify compliance with Maine Quality Forum established thresholds for the 28 safe practices. Those organizations who achieve this award will have met or exceeded the thresholds established. Applications will be accepted this autumn and the first awards are anticipated in early 2006.
"Our final goal with the Safety Star Award is to alert Maine people to their role in improving their outcomes in the care they receive," said Dr. Shubert. "We are also encouraging the public to be active patients- ask questions, share information that your care giver may not know. Each patient knows their medical history best. Speak up about medications and treatments that have caused you a problem in the past. Most importantly, be an active participant in developing a treatment plan that you know will work for you. The message here is that you have a responsibility in your own care and that is to speak up and be an active patient."
Combining the Safety Star certification program with more engaged patients are crucial steps to achieving the best possible quality of care in Maine- a fundamental goal of Dirigo Health Reform.