Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Quality Improvement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care outlines statewide projects: patient safety reviews, primary‑care pilots and suicide‑care training
Summary
VPQHC updated the Senate committee on a range of statewide, non‑regulatory quality improvement projects: a hospital serious‑event review program, primary‑care social‑needs pilots and a state‑wide rollout of suicide‑care training (CAMS). Leaders said the nonprofit’s statewide reach and convening role make it a ready partner for reform work.
Hillary Wolffley, executive director of the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care (VPQHC), told the Senate Health and Welfare committee that VPQHC is the state’s independent, non‑regulatory quality organization and is positioned to support statewide measurement and improvement activities that complement access and cost initiatives.
“We improve healthcare quality in Vermont by studying the system and making it work better,” Wolffley said, describing VPQHC’s role as a neutral convener that runs multi‑site quality programs and produces public reports. She said VPQHC receives a mix of funding — bill‑back fees under 18 V.S.A. §9416, state contracts, federal grants, private contracts and philanthropy — and that bill‑back fees make up a minority of the organization’s budget.
VPQHC staff described three programs in depth: a hospital patient‑safety review and follow‑up process, a primary‑care pilot that tracked social‑needs screening and community health worker interventions, and a suicide‑care training initiative for clinicians.
Patrice Knapp described the Patient Safety Surveillance and Improvement System (PSSIS), a subcontract with the Vermont Department of Health that receives serious‑reportable event reports from hospitals, reviews root‑cause analyses, coaches hospitals on corrective action plans and conducts site visits to validate implementation. Knapp said PSSIS has increased hospital engagement in peer learning; the most frequent reports are hospital‑acquired pressure injuries, and the program focuses on action plans that go beyond retraining and emphasize system changes.
RANDALL Messier described VPQHC’s primary‑care work, including a Pilot at several pediatric clinics that implemented screening for health‑related social needs and deployed community health workers to connect families to resources. The pilot measured clinical, operational and financial outcomes and showed higher engagement and lower per‑event cost when community health workers helped avoid emergency transport and ER visits.
VPQHC also reported progress on training clinicians in Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). The CAMS project trained more than 400 clinicians statewide, established a community of practice with quarterly consultation, and created a directory of trained clinicians to improve referral pathways.
Wolffley said VPQHC will produce a five‑year strategic plan and urged the legislature to include quality measurement and clinical outcomes in any broader health system reform work. She emphasized VPQHC’s ability to convene hospitals, primary‑care practices and independent providers to run multi‑site quality improvement initiatives and to produce data that policymakers can use to assess the consequences of access and cost changes.
Senators thanked VPQHC for the briefing and asked staff to identify specific ways the nonprofit could support statutory reform, data collection and the Green Mountain Care Board’s oversight roles.
