Last month, the SDAHO Quality Integration hosted the annual MBQIP Workshop in Sioux Falls. This workshop is sponsored by the South Dakota Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program and provides an opportunity for critical access hospitals quality professionals to come together to learn and network. This year’s workshop was packed with valuable education including insight on the new MBQIP Core Measure that will be reported in calendar year 2025. Other presentations included a focus on psychological safety and surveyor preparedness.
This year’s event saw an increase in attendance of over 15% from the previous year, for a total attendance of 43. Of the 40 critical access hospitals across the state, 24 of hospitals were represented, with six hospitals having multiple attendees. The increase in attendance is attributed to the robust agenda and the education on the new 2025 MBQIP Measures.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the announcement that South Dakota will receive an award in July at the Flex Program Reverse Site Visit held in Washington, DC for improvement on MBQIP reporting. Michelle Hoffman, SD Flex Coordinator, made the announcement at this year’s event. The Reverse Site Visit is hosted by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) and brings State Flex Coordinators together from around the United States for informative sessions. Over the past year, improvement has been seen in the number of hospitals reporting on all MBQIP measures from eight critical access hospitals to 20, which is an improvement of over 50%. The improvement is attributed by many factors including the dedication of the quality professionals from around the state in submitting timely data, support from the SDAHO Clinical Improvement consultants and strong working relationship with the SD Office of Rural Health and Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA).
Many quality professionals offered positive comments about this year’s event. One such comment was:
“The SDAHO quality team did a wonderful job with the MBQIP Conference! There was a lot of great information and networking opportunities with other quality professionals across the state! I am thankful for all they do!” –Cassie Gerlach RT (R), Clinic and Quality Manager at Avera St. Benedict Health Center.
As we move forward with the MBQIP measures, the SDAHO team in collaboration with SD Flex Coordinator and RQITA will be here to support the SD CAHs. We look forward to continually improving the quality of care at SD critical access hospitals and look forward to another successful MBQIP workshop next year.
