NHPCO Celebrates Hospice Providers Successfully Earning Quality Connections Rings in 2021

249 Hospice Organization Participated in Inaugural Year of Innovative Quality Improvement Program

NHPCO is proud to share the names of member organizations that have earned rings in the inaugural year of its Quality Connections program. Launched by NHPCO in January of 2021, Quality Connections (QC) was designed to enhance the knowledge base, skills, and competency of hospice and palliative care professionals and providers for continuous quality improvement.

QC is structured around four fundamental pillars which are represented by four QC rings: Education, Application, Measurement, and Innovation.

“To simply say that a hospice organization is interested in quality is not enough. A hospice must demonstrate its commitment to patient- and family-centered care with measurable results and outcomes. One of the most effective ways to do this is through active participation in NHPCO’s Quality Connections,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach.  “As we share the results from the first year of Quality Connections, we are able to shine a light on hospice organizations that have made significant strides in improving their quality of care. This matters to patients, families, payers, and providers, and I congratulate the providers that participated.”

Of the hospice organizations that embarked on a continuous quality improvement journey last year, 116 programs earned rings reflecting their success in Quality Connections. Among those programs, 27 hospices have the distinction of achieving the top levels of earning three or four rings.

NHPCO salutes all the hospice programs that worked to demonstrate an organizational wide commitment to quality.  For the full list of hospices earning rings in 2021, see the full NHPCO press release (03/16/22).

Each Ring has specific activities incorporating practical resources to progressively track and improve both clinical and organizational quality. Activities such as quarterly data reporting and benchmarking, NHPCO’s E-Online courses, peer case studies, and engagement will be part of an organization’s quality journey. Additionally, participants will find activities that are focused on promoting diversity, access, and inclusion within an organization and with the communities they serve.

“For a hospice organization to be activity engaged with continuous quality improvement, commitment throughout the entire organization at all levels of staff is required,” said NHPCO Vice President of Quality Aparna Gupta. “And success should be celebrated at all levels within an organization with the reminder that the benefits are ultimately seen at the bedside of the person at the center of care.” 

QC is a benefit of NHPCO provider membership. For organizations that already have an established quality improvement program, Quality Connections can build on and streamline what they already have in place. If a provider needs to enrich their quality improvement efforts, Quality Connections will provide the guidance and resources they need.

It is not too late for NHPCO provider members to enroll in Quality Connections for 2022. Follow the steps in the Quality Connections User Guide to enroll in the program and to start your quality improvement journey.  

For their support of the Quality Connections program in 2021, NHPCO thanks its Gold Level Sponsors: Curitec and Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, and Silver Level Sponsor ADVault, Inc.