The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) along with the South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) were recognized for our Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) progress in Quality Reporting. The recognition took place at the Reverse Site Visit (RSV) in Washington D.C, the week of July 15,2024. Becky Heisinger, SDAHO’s Director of Quality and Integration alongside Michelle Hoffman, Rural Hospital Programs Coordinator with the South Dakota DOH attended the event, which is specifically designed for state Flex Program Staff who are dedicated to enhancing healthcare access and outcomes in rural communities. Each year at the Reverse Site Visit the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) team acknowledges Flex states in several categories, one being MBQIP improvement, and this year South Dakota was recognized for progress in reporting of quality measures.
Hospitals are required by the (FORHP) to submit a minimum requirement of Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Program (MBQIP) data to be eligible to participate in Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program funded activities. However not all SD hospitals report all MBQIP Measures, but this year there was an increase in the number of CAH’s who reported. Heisinger says, “Over the past year the SD Quality program went from having 8 CAH’s report all MBQIP measures to 20 CAHs report all MBQIP measures. That is wonderful progress.” This success is due in part to the SD Flex Program Coordinator along with SDAHO’s Director of Quality Integration’s vision and technical assistance provided by SDAHO Clinical Improvement Consultants, Loretta Bryan and Michelle Hofer.
The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) analyzed the data to identify high-performing Flex States on Quality Reporting and Performance. FORHP asked the FMT to rank states on CAH quality performance using inpatient, outpatient, HCAHPS, and EDTC reporting and performance.
Comparing this year’s results with last year’s, in the top ten there are six new states (Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, Hawaii, South Dakota, Idaho). Six states that were ranked last year dropped out of the rankings (New Hampshire, New York, Nebraska, South Carolina, Michigan, Utah).
Results:
Using the data and methods described above, the top ten ranked states on quality reporting and performance were:
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Nevada
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Hawaii
- South Dakota
- Illinois
- Idaho
Congratulations to all South Dakota’s CAHs for participating and assisting with this year’s recognition.
