Quality & Safety

A key tenet of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association is to ensure that quality and safety topics are high-priority, visible efforts of healthcare leadership. Ways to do this include the integration of proven patient safety strategies into healthcare processes of care; the monitoring and reporting progress on efforts to improve quality of care and patient safety; and measuring improvement over time on specific endeavors.
03.09.2020  | COVID-19: Developments Emerge Daily
MHA created a newsletter and webpage on the virus and the state swung into action.
02.24.2020  | Focus on Community Benefits: Cooley Dickinson Health Care
Cooley Dickinson Health Care supports several food systems projects through its community benefit program.
02.17.2020  | Focus on Community Benefits: Baystate Franklin Medical Center
The Franklin County Perinatal Support Coalition is a multi-sector and provider initiative that convenes monthly more than 30 community agencies.
02.17.2020  | Senate Passes Mental Health Parity Bill
The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a sweeping mental health reform bill last Thursday that takes a large step towards "parity."
02.17.2020  | AG Accuses JUUL of Targeting Youths
Attorney General Maura Healy last week filed suit against JUUL Labs, the e-cigarette manufacturer.
02.17.2020  | It’s Now Covid-19, and the Risk in Mass. Remains “Low”
DPH reports that the risk of the novel coronavirus – newly named Covid-19 last week by the World Health Organization – is still low in Massachusetts.
02.10.2020  | Hospitals Saving Lives Inside and Outside of Their Walls
MHA has produced a publication – A Commitment to Community: Massachusetts Hospitals’ Community Benefit Initiatives – that details stories showing how hospitals are improving the health of individuals and communities.
02.10.2020  | JAMA Study: MOUD Works
Medication for opioid use disorder that employs buprenorphine or methadone has the best chance of preventing individuals from overdosing again, according to a February 5 JAMA Network Open study
02.03.2020  | The Spread of Coronavirus
As of late last week, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) had spread to more than 8,000 people around the world (but mostly in China) and has caused more than 210 deaths in China.
02.03.2020  | Free CME-Credit Webinars on Contraceptive Choice
Interested hospital-affiliated clinicians are invited to participate in one or more free, CME-credit-bearing webinars sponsored by Partners in Contraceptive Choice and Knowledge.
02.03.2020  | National Human Trafficking Training Features Brigham Health Expert
Through SOAR Training – Stop, Observe, Ask, Respond – healthcare and social service professionals are better able to recognize those who are at risk or who have experienced human trafficking.
01.27.2020  | Novel Coronavirus Risk in Mass. is Low for Now
DPH last week informed hospitals and other providers to be on the lookout for potential coronavirus patients.
01.27.2020  | MHQP Survey: The Focus on Behavioral Health Paying Off
Seventy-four percent of primary care providers in the commonwealth ask their patients about behavioral health concerns.
01.20.2020  | Cardinal Health Surgical Gowns to Be Recalled
There is a “voluntary product hold” and pending nationwide recall of surgical gowns distributed by Cardinal Health of Dublin, Ohio.
01.13.2020  | A New Tool to Address Sepsis in Hospitals
Collective Medical has announced that it is expanding its capabilities to help in the fight against sepsis in hospitals.
12.23.2019  | Readmissions in Massachusetts
The unplanned readmission rate for Massachusetts acute care hospitals in 2018 was 15.4% – unchanged from the previous year.
12.23.2019  | Quality Association (NEAHQ) Expands and Improves Website
Massachusetts Association of Healthcare Quality (MAHQ) has expanded out of state and is now the New England Association of Healthcare Quality (NEAHQ).
12.16.2019  | Should Doctors Ask Patients About Guns?
The Joint Committee on Public Health heard testimony on a bill that would mandate that DPH create a program to screen patients for the presence of firearms in the home.
12.09.2019  | Removing the Religious Exemption for School Vaccinations
MHA last week testified in favor of proposed legislation that would eliminate the religious exemption as a reason to refuse vaccinations for school admittance.
11.25.2019  | 3 Bills –Kid’s Health, Tobacco, Safe Driving – Await Gov’s Signature
Three bills that MHA and its membership have endorsed throughout their journey in the State House were passed by the legislature last week.

Click on the link below for timely webinars, articles, toolkits and more with information on stress management, self-care, and caregiver support. (April 2020)