Contact the Colorado QIO for more details Colorado Foundation for Medical Care See QIO success in other states Success Stories: COLORADO

Colorado Foundation for Medical Care targeted social barriers in Hispanic communities —where many consider it inappropriate to speak about mammography—by bringing the message into a socially sanctioned environment. In the Tepeyac Project, CFMC worked with female leaders in the Hispanic community to speak about mammography in Catholic churches and partnered with clinics serving Hispanic populations to improve perceptions and services. These tactics resulted in a 7% increase in mammography rates for this population; however, the most impressive increase occurred in areas where health educators, known as Promotoras, performed one-on-one outreach to women in the parishes. In these communities, the mammography rate for Latinas with Medicare increased from 27% to 43%. The Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, the state’s QIO, joined two nursing homes to participate in the National Nursing Home Improvement Collaborative aiming to reduce high risk pressure ulcers. One nursing home participating in the collaborative decreased their high-risk pressure ulcer score from 14.3 in 2003 to 10.6 in 2004, while scores for other nursing homes in the state increased from 10.2 to 11.4 during the same period. Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, the Colorado QIO, and Quality Partners of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island QIO, joined eight multi-facility, multi-state nursing home corporations to improve pain management of nursing home residents in the Corporate Nursing Home Improvement Collaborative. Participating facilities improved the management of residents’ pain by about 45 percent, finding that both traditional and non-traditional techniques were helpful. Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, the state’s QIO, facilitated the Inter-Setting Pressure Ulcer and Skin Integrity study with two hospitals and two nursing homes to address the consistency of treatment for pressure ulcers (bed sores) from hospital to nursing home and vice versa. The incidence of low risk and high risk pressure ulcers went down in the participating nursing homes while the rate of acute care pressure ulcers increased. In the hospitals, more pressure ulcers were detected. Working with 69 hospitals statewide in the 7th Scope of Work, the Colorado QIO, Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, facilitated public accountability and transparency to improve patient care. Now, 100% of Colorado hospitals report publicly on care measures and hospital-specific mortality data. The Colorado Foundation for Medical Care partnered with the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Heart Failure Society of America, National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the National Quality Forum to amend national cardiovascular quality measures to be reflective of evidence-based medicine. Doak Walker Care Center, in Steamboat Springs, cuts the number of patients reporting pain from 36% to 7%: Doak Walker Care Center worked in partnership with the adjacent hospital’s pain team to provide innovative pain treatment not routinely seen in nursing homes. They have used the following interventions to help those residents with chronic pain: epidural steroid injections, diagnostic nerve blocks, trigger point injections, botox A and B injections, cervical and lumbar sympathetic blocks, implantable pain pumps, and percutaneous disc decompression. Additionally, this facility has been working with Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, the Colorado QIO, on quality improvement of pain management since participation in the Nursing Home Quality Initiative Pilot Project. Clear Creek Care Center in Westminster cuts by 50% the number of patients experiencing moderate to severe daily pain: Working with Colorado Foundation for Medical Care (CFMC), the Colorado QIO, Clear Creek developed a pain management committee with a clearly defined mission: make every resident in the nursing home as comfortable as possible. CFMC provided Clear Creek with pain management material and a checklist for care that was shared with supervisors, nurses, CNAs, dietitians, and social workers. “With CFMC we were able to see how important it is to communicate about pain across every discipline, at every level of the staff, and with the resident’s family,” says Clear Creek Administrator Beth Irtz. “Now we even have receptionists and housekeepers reporting on pain, things that never happened before.” Mount St. Francis cuts number of residents reporting chronic pain by 63%. This facility began an intensive evaluation of its existing pain program—organizing a pain team and utilizing educational materials, including self-assessment checklists provided by CFMC, to identify areas for improvement. The facility provided pain education to resident and family councils to encourage involvement and to assist residents and families in understanding their important role in the pain management process. The staff members also participated in educational training sessions and have increased their awareness of pain management. Garden of the Godscare center cuts percentage of patients experiencing chronic pain to 7%. This facility organized a pain management committee to address the needs of residents in chronic pain. CFMC provided educational materials and resources including pain management checklists and self-audit tools. Through the use of improved screening and assessment tools, increased use of round the clock medication verses as needed medication, and use of alternative treatment including aroma therapy this facility has improved pain management awareness and thus the quality of care for the residents.

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