To increase provider capacity and enhance the quality of care within health systems across the greater New York region by building quality improvement leadership through the continuation and expansion of the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program, including modification of the curriculum to add content relevant to ambulatory care; and by supporting hospitals and nursing homes in developing antibiotic stewardship programs to address antibiotic resistance and the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, through a learning network and hands-on support.
Since 2005, Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) and United Hospital Fund (UHF) have developed initiatives to strengthen clinical leadership in quality improvement, prevent hospital-acquired infections, reduce mortality associated with severe sepsis, advance palliative care, implement rapid response systems, improve perinatal safety, reduce hospital admissions and readmissions from nursing homes and home care, and address antibiotic resistance. More than 100 hospitals have been involved in at least one of these quality improvement initiatives. For 2016-17, this collaboration will continue with a focus on building clinical capacity and promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics.
Clinical Leadership and Education
By April 2017, more than 160 Fellows will have completed the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP). With the support of this grant, an expanded class of approximately 30 Fellows will be selected, and the 15-month training program's curriculum will be modified to include content on ambulatory care; accordingly, up to 25 percent of the new Fellows will represent hospital ambulatory areas. Fellows will participate in two two-day retreats, along with webinars, dinner meetings with faculty on quality and safety topics, networking sessions with CQFP alumni, and a culminating event. Fellows will also lead quality improvement initiatives at their hospitals as their “capstone” projects, and will report on their achievements to hospital leadership.
Antibiotic Stewardship
UHF and GNYHA will conclude their successful initiative to promote the implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs in hospitals, and develop an Antibiotic Stewardship Certificate program for nursing homes, where overprescribing and incorrect prescribing of antibiotics is a serious problem that has become a focus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Activities over the next year will include convening a symposium to highlight successful antibiotic stewardship program implementation in hospitals; administering a nursing home assessment tool to determine current antibiotic stewardship activities and barriers in nursing homes; developing and conducting an antibiotic stewardship certificate program for nursing homes; and designing interventions to support antibiotic stewardship implementation efforts in long-term care settings.