Contact the Nebraska QIO for more details CIMRO of Nebraska See QIO success in other states Success Stories: NEBRASKA

Working with CIMRO of Nebraska , the state’s QIO, BryanLGH Medical Center participated in the Nebraska Surgical Infection Prevention Collaborative from November 2003 to July 2004. During that time, the center increased the percentage of cardiac surgical patients who receive prophylactic antibiotics 60 minutes prior to surgery from 50 to 100 percent and also increased the use of recommended antibiotics from 60 to 100 percent for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Hospice and Home Health of Saunders County in Wahoo, Nebraska partnered with CIMRO of Nebraska in recent years to improve dyspnea, or shortness of breath, among patients. The dyspnea measure in January 2004 was 32 percent and by January 2005, improvement in dyspnea was at 57.1 percent. CIMRO of Nebraska, the state’s QIO, worked with nursing homes from 2002 to 2005 to improve on the incidence of pain and pressure ulcers for residents. According to CMS data, Nebraska nursing homes reduced the number of residents reporting chronic pain by one-half during this time frame. More specifically, Highland Park Care Center reduced the percentage of residents with declining ability to perform activities of daily living from 25 percent to 9 percent from 2003 to 2004. CIMRO of Nebraska, the state’s QIO, partnered with clinic staff, physicians, the Nebraska Medical Association, Nebraska Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, and others in a Focus on Health project aimed at promoting awareness of diabetes and improving care for the diabetic patient. One practice that participated in the project showed improvement from 71.7 percent completion of diabetic dilated eye exams to 81.3 percent. The practice also showed improvement from 55 percent to 83.3 percent in Lipid Profile completion for Medicare patients with diabetes. Nebraska home makes major gains in pain control: Working with the Nebraska QIO, CIMRO of Nebraska, Highland Park Care Center in Alliance, NE reduced the percentage of patients experiencing chronic pain from 22% down to 14% and reduced the percentage of residents with ADL decline from 25% to 9% in 2003-2004. Linda Schneider, Director of Nursing, stated these improvements can be attributed primarily to listening to residents, reviewing and revising policies and procedures, generating the participation and buy-in of all staff, structured analysis and monitoring of data.

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