On Behalf of Marianhill I hope everyone of our friends in the community had a great holiday season. It was festive here as usual but now we are ready to get down to business for 2010. Marianhill has volunteered to participate in the Ontario Health Quality Council long term care public reporting project for 2010 as part of its ongoing commitment to quality improvement. The OHQC is lead by Dr. Ben Chan, and is an independent agency created by the province in 2004. Its mandate is to help improve the publicly funded health system by monitoring and reporting on its quality to the people of Ontario and by encouraging continuous improvement.
The website will enable residents of Ontario to compare homes in the project with respect to four quality indicators. These are (in percentages):
1. residents with worsening bladder control
2. residents who had a recent fall
3. residents with pressure ulcer that recently got worse
4. residents with a new pressure ulcer (stage 2 or higher)
Marianhill and the other homes participating are at the forefront of quality improvement efforts in Ontario’s long term care section and this project will enable the public to see our home’s commitment to quality improvement.
Now that Marianhill has been involved in the MDS:RAI (a computerized assessment tool used to help develop the plan of care for our residents) our involvement in the Quality Council’s public reporting will provide Marianhill with a deeper understanding of our data and how it can be effectively utilized in evidence-based planning to help improve our performance and the health outcomes of our residents. Once the website is launched, family members will see the comparative data. It is important to note that the Council has made a great effort to make the data useful. It will be risk adjusted for age, gender, etc. which will make a more accurate comparison between homes.
Quality improvement and improved care for our residents is the ultimate outcome of Marianhill’s participation in this project. This data will provide a springboard for constructive engagement with residents and their families. To view the public reporting visit http://www.ohqc.ca/en/index.php.