Promising Results from CMS' Partnership for Patients
Reducing harm from a wide range of hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent, and reducing all-cause 30-day readmissions by 20 percent by December 2013, are ambitious goals launched by the Partnership for Patients and the Hospital Engagement Network in 2011.
Koontz Named to KHC Board
Jennifer Scott Koontz, MD, MPH, FAAFP, primary care sports medicine physician at Newton Medical Center, was named to the KHC Board of Directors in April. A native of Hutchinson, Dr. Koontz joined the Newton Medical Center staff in 2009. She earned an undergraduate degree from Bethel College, Newton, and a doctorate in medicine from the University Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. She completed her residency in family medicine and a Fellowship in Sports Medicine at Via Christi in Wichita.
Dr. Koontz is an active member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and the Kansas Medical Society.
Critical Access Hospital featured in State Snapshot Report to HRET
Cheyenne County Hospital obstetrical team (standing from left): Rebecca Allard, MD; Brenda Hays, RN, BSN; Judy Rockwood, CEO/DON; Tammi Sherlock, RN; and Debbie Harris, RN. Seated are Sharissa Andrist and her son Tysson.Cheyenne County Hospital, St. Francis, was selected as the "spotlight hospital" by the KHC in its State Snapshot report to the Hospital Research and Educational Trust (HRET) regarding the Hospital Engagement Network activities in Kansas. The report was submitted in October.
Cheyenne County Hospital was recognized in the report for successfully implementing a hard-stop policy that reduced the number and percentage of babies delivered prior to 39 weeks gestation, resulting in significant improvement in newborn outcomes. CCH is a 16-bed critical access hospital located in St. Francis (pop. 1,329) in northwest Kansas with the nearest NICU 180 miles away. Its obstetrics unit opened in 2007 and delivers between 20-30 babies annually. Hospital staff recognized increased complications in late-term infants delivered prior to 39 weeks (inductions/c-sections).