The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care presented the 2024 Bernard A. Kershner Innovations in Quality Improvement Awards at the organization's recent Achieving Accreditation conference.
In an email shared with Becker's Dec. 16, the AAHC said these awards honor "excellence in ambulatory healthcare" and recognize organizations that have implemented effective quality-improvement initiatives:
2024 Bernard A. Kershner Primary Care Winner
Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska: "Accelerated Hepatitis C Screening of Patient Population"
- This study aimed to improve hepatitis C screening and treatment among Alaska's Native patients, a community with disproportionately high rates of hepatitis C-related deaths.
- The study identified and addressed disparities in hepatitis C screening efforts and "led to systemic changes," including adding prompts to electronic health records, adding hepatitis C to screening panels for sexually transmitted diseases and educating patients and providers.
2024 Bernard A. Kershner Surgical/Procedural Care Winner
Complete Surgery Mesquite (Texas): "Operating Room Terminal Cleaning Effectiveness Study"
- This study focused on improving operating room terminal cleaning effectiveness to better prevent patients and care teams from contracted healthcare-associated infections.
- Baseline evaluations found that current cleaning services were below standard, which could be due to language barriers, lack of training and supervision, and unclear service expectations. The study resulted in corrective measures such as creating Spanish-language cleaning logs and redefining service expectations.