Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded a five-year contract to Health Quality Innovators (HQI) to serve as a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) under the recently launched 12th Statement of Work. The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence (CCME), a nonprofit organization recognized as a leader in improving health care quality, will lead the program locally as a subcontractor.

QIN-QIOs serving under the 12th Statement of Work will provide targeted assistance to nursing homes and communities in small and rural practices, those serving the most vulnerable populations, and those in need of customized quality improvement. Through this body of work, CMS is focusing on results, protecting taxpayer dollars, and most importantly, ensuring the safety and quality of care delivered to every beneficiary.

Operating as the Health Quality Innovation Network (HQIN), HQI, CCME and other local improvement partners will lead quality improvement efforts in Kansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia.

“CCME has served South Carolina for more than three decades, working side by side with new and longtime partners on health care quality improvement,” said Joy Hogan Rozman, CEO and president of CCME. “In this new contract, we are focusing on data-driven solutions in nursing homes, hospitals, physician practices, pharmacies and communities to target priority areas of need, especially for rural and vulnerable populations.”

HQIN will be responsible for improving quality in nursing homes with significant challenges, as well as small and rural communities and those serving vulnerable populations by:

• Improving Behavioral Health Outcomes – Including Opioid Misuse

• Increasing Patient Safety

• Increasing Chronic Disease Self-Management

• Increasing the Quality of Care Transitions

• Improving Nursing Home Quality

HQIN can be contacted by visiting http://www.hqin.org or by emailing Karen Southard at ksouthard@thecarolinascenter.org. For more information on the QIO Program, please visit www.cms.gov.