Living Well Program Wins Population Health Innovator of the Year Award
Project Living Well, a partnership program of Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) and MAC, Inc., both located in Salisbury, MD, has been chosen as a Health Quality Innovator of the Year award winner.
Presented by Health Quality Innovators (HQI), the awards recognize the innovative efforts of seven health care organization programs in Maryland and Virginia that are designed to improve health in four categories: Collaboration, Health IT, Patient-Centered Care and Population Health. Project Living Well received the Innovator of the Year award in the Population Health category.
Since 2015, MAC and PRMC have co-led Project Living Well, an initiative focused on expanding access to self-management programs on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. Patients who participate in Project Living Well classes for chronic disease management learn, as part of a peer led team, how to read medicine bottles, what questions to ask their doctor, how to get appointments, the importance of a healthy diet and exercise and how to add both to their day, when to call their doctor’s office, how to talk about advance directives, how to problem solve, and many other skills necessary for managing chronic disease.
Project Living Well leaders take information and healthcare services directly into communities known to have higher rates of chronic disease and healthcare disparities. Research shows that our own personal behaviors have a significant impact on our overall health. Our personal behavior impacts 60% of our health outcomes and our ability to manage chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes or respiratory diseases such as COPD.
“Partnership with MAC is critical for this community,” said Kathryn Fiddler, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Executive Director of Population Health at PRMC. “Health care systems do a great job of diagnosing and prescribing a treatment plan. Where they fall short, is in the ability to help patients understand the treatment plan and how to make it happen. Our coordination with MAC, Inc. and their evidence based programs is the key to making this connection between a clinician’s medical plan and successful health outcomes for those in our community.”
Over the last two years, nearly 700 patients have participated in the program, which targets seniors and minority populations including African-Americans, Hispanics and those living in rural areas. Project Living Well also provides wrap-around services that address and remove barriers to significantly improve the quality of life and care of older adults.
Each of the recognized organizations displays a strong commitment to providing the best care to their patients and implementing quality improvement strategies that align with the Triple Aim: better care, better population health and lower health care costs.
“We commend PRMC and MAC, Inc. for their commitment to helping patients and families improve their health and quality of life,” said Donald A. Glozer, MHA, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of HQI. “These organizations are demonstrating innovative approaches to solving our most pressing healthcare challenges.”
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About HQI
Since 1984, HQI has been leading the way to better health care for providers and other clients by offering expertise in quality improvement, practice transformation, provider payment programs and electronic health record optimization. Better clinical performance, patient outcomes and cost savings are among the results. In addition to its role as the QIN-QIO and the PTN, HQI is a partner in two national Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks. Visit www.hqi.solutions to learn more.
