ARQNG

Background
In April 2003, four small rural hospitals in Southeastern Arizona―with less than 25 beds and limited resources―developed and initiated a collaboration called the Southeastern Arizona Hospital Work Group. The founding members included Northern Cochise Community Hospital (Wilcox), Southeastern Arizona Medical Center (Douglas), Copper Queen Community Hospital (Bisbee), and Benson Hospital. Driven by their commitment to quality care and determination to overcome challenges specific to small rural hospitals, this group evolved into a state-wide quality group called the Arizona Rural Quality Network Group. To view a one-page summary of ARQNG, click here.

Purpose
ARQNG is a multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical and quality improvement team members working together from critical access hospitals (CAHs) and those eligible for Small Hospital Improvement Programs (SHIPs) to create and implement interventions directed toward improving the quality of care provided to patients in small volume rural hospitals throughout Arizona. The bimonthly teleconferences focus on networking, sharing, problem-solving and developing/modifying interventions.

Objectives

• Promote the partnership between CAHs, SHIPs, HSAG, the Rural Health Office (RHO), and other Arizona health care organizations.
• Share information on clinical topics, care processes, and quality improvement projects.
• Communicate successes, barriers, and lessons learned within Arizona's acute care settings.
• Collaborate in the development and implementation of materials, tools, and interventions to improve the quality of care.
• Promote the reduction of medication/systems failures.
• Identify means for improving the timeliness of a patient transfer from the emergency room to a higher-level hoptital.
• Collaborate on enhancing the communication system betwee urban and rural hospitals concerning patients returning to their rural respecitive hospital/community.

Milestones

• Three quality managers have been certified as CPHQ.
• State-wide participation in the Medicare Congestive Heart Failure Demonstration Project, HeartPartners.

ARQNG Meeting Minutes

• January 2007 (PDF, 26K)
• October 2006 (PDF, 18K)
• April 2006 (PDF, 17K)
• January 2006 (PDF, 14K)
• October 2005 (PDF, 27K)
• March 2005 (DOC, 38K)
• January 2005 (DOC, 33K)
• October 2004 (DOC, 25K)
• April 2004 (DOC, 32K)

Contacts
Northern Cochise Community Hospital
Kim Duncan, RN, BSN, CPHQ
Telephone 520.384.8517
Email kduncan@ncch.com
 
Rural Health Office, UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Joyce Hospodar, MBA
Telephone 520.626.7946 ext. 229
Email Hospodar@u.arizona.edu
 http://cah.arizona.edu/

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