Qualidigm Expands Healthcare Quality Improvement Capabilities to New Hampshire
Wethersfield, CONN (PRWEB) December 10, 2014 -- Qualidigm, the national healthcare consulting company in Wethersfield, Conn., recently welcomed five experienced healthcare professionals to the team, expanding its quality improvement services to New Hampshire. This strategic move is in support of the recently awarded Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The New England QIN-QIO, consisting of Healthcentric Advisors, the prime contractor, in partnership with Qualidigm, is serving the six New England states: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.
“Our new Qualidigm team members, who are all former employees of the Northeast Health Care Quality Foundation (NHCQF), the previous QIO for Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, have a long history of successfully working with healthcare providers in the northern New England states,” said Tim Elwell, Qualidigm president and CEO. “Their knowledge of this local healthcare market is unmatched; I am pleased to have such well respected and knowledgeable professionals on board as we collaborate to improve healthcare quality for all of New England.”
The Qualidigm New Hampshire staff includes:
Margaret Crowley, RN, PhD - New Hampshire State Director. Ms. Crowley is a nurse with 40 years of experience in acute care, home care, nursing education, and quality improvement. Prior to joining Qualidigm, she worked for eight years with NHCQF as a Quality Improvement Specialist with the hospital project focused on reducing healthcare-acquired infections.
Pamela Heckman RN, BSN - Project Coordinator. Ms. Heckman was previously employed for 15 years by NHCQF where she worked as a Quality Improvement Specialist with nursing homes and has over 17 years of experience in the home health care industry. Previously, Ms. Heckman was supervisor at the Episcopal Long Term Home Health Care Program, and supervisor of the Episcopal AIDS Home Care Program in Buffalo, NY. She also participated in the development of Benedict House, the first home in Western New York for people living with AIDS.
Joyce Johnson, RN-BC, MA - Project Coordinator. Ms. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in nursing, quality improvement and health education. For the past three years, she led the Transitions of Care Initiative in New Hampshire and Vermont while at NHCQF. She has developed and helped healthcare providers implement interventions to improve the quality of healthcare outcomes by reducing unnecessary hospital transfers and readmissions. Her expertise is in the conceptual and practical implementation of quality improvement initiatives.
Leslie Molleur, RN-BC, MPH - Project Coordinator. Ms. Molleur has held management positions in Quality Improvement programs for the past 20 years, and comes to Qualidigm from Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. Previously, as a quality improvement specialist with the NHCQF, Ms. Molleur was responsible for assisting physician offices in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont with the implementation of electronic health records, including work flow analysis and redesign.
Georgette Verhelle, RN, BSN, CPHQ - Project Coordinator. Ms. Verhelle has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare. Her varied experience includes working in hospitals, primary care, skilled nursing facilities, and home health care. While at NHCQF, Ms. Verhelle served as the communities project lead in Maine and New Hampshire on the Transitions of Care team bringing community healthcare providers together to work on reducing readmissions and improving care coordination.
The Qualidigm New Hampshire staff will work across the state on strategic initiatives such as reducing healthcare-associated infections, reducing readmissions and medication errors, working with nursing homes to improve care for residents, supporting clinical practices in using interoperable health information technology to coordinate care, promoting prevention activities, reducing cardiac disease and diabetes, reducing healthcare disparities and improving patient and family engagement.
The Qualidigm New Hampshire office is located at 125 Airport Road in Concord, NH.
About Qualidigm:
Based in Wethersfield, Conn., Qualidigm's mission is to improve the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare through transformational change. Qualidigm provides consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide. These services include consulting, data analysis, health information technology, patient safety, quality improvement, and utilization review. Qualidigm is part of a team that is serving as the Medicare Quality Innovation Network Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) under contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for New England. Previously, Qualidigm served as the Medicare QIO for the State of Connecticut charged with protecting the rights of Medicare beneficiaries and improving the safety and quality of care they receive. Qualidigm is also a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) as designated by the State of Connecticut. http://www.Qualidigm.org
About the New England QIN-QIO:
Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the New England Quality Innovation Network Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), administered by Healthcentric Advisors in partnership with Qualidigm, is serving all six New England states. Across the region, the New England QIN-QIO works with healthcare providers, stakeholders and communities on data-driven quality initiatives to improve patient safety, engage patients and families and improve clinical care at the community level. http://www.healthcarefornewengland.org
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Nancy Kelly, Qualidigm, http://www.qualidigm.org, +1 (860) 632-6340, [email protected]
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