CAH quality committee reports improvements; infection-prevention work continues

Joe, board member, summarized the CAH quality meeting held Sept. 17 and reported several operational and clinical highlights: incident reports were down in recent months; primary-care measures showed improved rates of well-managed patients over the past six months; therapy staffing will be full starting the upcoming Monday; and infection-control metrics were reviewed. The meeting also received reports from radiology, the lab, nutrition and wellness, and therapy. Nutrition and wellness discussed falls prevention and a new Tai Chi program that started Sept. 20, and therapy reported it will be fully staffed beginning Monday. Infection prevention: Joe said Aaron from public health presented on a forthcoming flu vaccine workshop and that infection-prevention work includes continued hand-hygiene efforts, antibiotic stewardship, and some environmental items such as handrails. He said an inventory issue for cleaning chemicals had been resolved and removed from the action-item list. Board response and context: Committee members asked questions but did not take formal action on quality metrics at the meeting; the reports were received for information. The board thanked committee members and staff for the updates and for the work to reduce incidents and to bolster infection-prevention practices. No formal board decisions were recorded for the quality reports during the public session; staff will continue to track the action-item list and return updates as needed.