compass

F.W. Huston is a 25 bed Critical Access Hospital in Winchester, in Northeast Kansas and is a member hospital in the Compass HQIC Network. When Nancy Martin, a former employee of F.W. Huston Medical Center, returned to the hospital as Director of Nursing in August of 2022, she noticed some trends in care transitions that were attributed to an increase in readmissions. Patients were returning to F.W. Huston or other hospitals after hospital discharge in cases where it seemed preventable. Nancy and the F.W. Huston Team would embark on a quality improvement project that after nearly one year has made strides in process improvements, yet admittedly is still under construction.

The Compass HQIC Network is a community of outstanding healthcare professionals like you, who actively contribute efforts every day to improve patient safety and strengthen best practices. To help inspire other healthcare professionals, KHC and the Compass HQIC team invite you to share what fuels your passion for healthcare. As part of the Hospital Quality Improvement initiative, we are asking you to share your “why” in 1-2 sentences on one of the flyers  

In April 2017, church elders from the nearby Amish community met with two physicians and a social worker from Nemaha Valley Community Hospital (NVCH) to discuss concerns about recent poor birth outcomes in both mothers and babies in the local Amish community.  A meeting between physicians and church elders to solve health care issues is not the norm in healthcare, but in this case, was the most logical and culturally appropriate means to address an issue, which was vital to both the Amish community and the hospital.

In March 2022, the American Hospital Association urged Congress to address workforce issues affecting health care facilities¹. AHA called those workforce issues “a national emergency that demands immediate attention from all levels of government and workable solutions." According to the Kansas Hospital Association’s 2022 Workforce Report²vacancy and turnover rates in 2021 for licensed practical nurses and staff nurses were higher than in all previous years dating back to 2013. Statewide, overall employee turnover rate for surveyed health care positions averaged 19%, with the highest turnover rates for housekeepers (33%), food service workers/dietary aids (31%) and Certified Nursing Assistants (29%).

In March 2022, the American Hospital Association urged Congress to address workforce issues affecting health care facilities¹. AHA called those workforce issues “a national emergency that demands immediate attention from all levels of government and workable solutions." According to the Kansas Hospital Association’s 2022 Workforce Report²vacancy and turnover rates in 2021 for licensed practical nurses and staff nurses were higher than in all previous years dating back to 2013. Statewide, overall employee turnover rate for surveyed health care positions averaged 19%, with the highest turnover rates for housekeepers (33%), food service workers/dietary aids (31%) and Certified Nursing Assistants (29%).