RAMC Kicks-Off Program to Engage Nurses in Leading Efforts to Improve Quality

Reedsburg Area Medical Center ‘s Multicare Center is pleased to announce its selection and participation in the Aligning Forces for Quality Transforming Care at the Bedside (AF4Q TCAB). Bringing together hospital team leaders from across the state to lead improvements in the quality and safety of patient care, it is a part of an innovative nationwide program led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated to improving the health and healthcare of all Americans.

AF4Q TCAB is a new nurse-led hospital program that engaged frontline staff to work together to identify, pilot, test and adopt new practices over an 18-month period. The program also aims to increase the vitality and retention of our nurses and frontline staff, engage and improve the patient’s experience of care and improve the effectiveness of the entire care team. Participating nurses will then share their successes and lessons learned with other hospitals across the country.

“As Wisconsin and the nation look at improving care, it is important that we provide local models of reforms that are good for everyone,” said Beverly Hoege, Executive Vice President, RAMC. Reedsburg Area Medical Center’s participation in this program shows that we are committed to being a leader in improving patient care and increasing efficiency to produce better outcomes.”

It’s all part of Aligning Forces for Quality, the Foundation’s signature effort to lift the overall quality of healthcare in targeted communities, as well as reduce racial and ethic disparities and provide models for national reform. Since 2006, the state of Wisconsin has been targeted by RWJF to lead the local AF4Q alliance. In all, 17 regions of the country have been designated as part of Aligning Forces. In each region, a range of efforts to help doctors, nurses and hospitals improve quality – as well as engage consumers to be better patients – is being tested.

“By participating in AF4Q TCAB, nurses at RAMC will be on the frontlines, working together with others across Wisconsin to formulate innovations and improve the care they deliver,” said Terri Langer, RN, RAMC MultiCare Center Director. “This program will empower our staff to reduce adverse events and unanticipated deaths, reduce harm from falls and implement evidence-based care.”

The AF4Q TCAB program in Wisconsin is being convened by the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA). Funded by RWJF, Af4Q and all of the regional TCAB efforts are coordinated by The Center for Healthcare Quality at The George Washington University Medical Center School of Public Health and Health Services, which serves as the national program office for the Aligning Forces for Quality initiative. Local hospitals were recently asked to apply to participate in this hospital-based quality improvement component of the initiative. RAMC is proud to have been chosen and looks forward to the exciting challenge of Transforming Care at the Bedside for our Multicare Center patients.