FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Desiree M. Voinche
Manager, Communications and Outreach
voinched@dfmc.org
410-872-9624

Delmarva Foundation Announces
Improvements in Healthcare Quality in the District
District residents receiving better care in nursing homes and hospitals

Washington, DC, May 6, 2006 - Delmarva Foundation, Medicare’s Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in the District of Columbia announced today that District residents are receiving better care than ever as documented by Medicare and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

“The data shows that major improvements are being made in the care that District nursing homes and hospitals are providing to residents of the District,” said Maulik Joshi, DrPH, President and CEO, Delmarva Foundation. “Because District providers are tackling the difficult task of examining the care they provide and looking for ways to improve that care, patients in the District of Columbia can expect safer, better care.”

In March, AHRQ presented an overview of the quality of healthcare for each state by releasing new state-level data, including measures that QIOs work with providers to improve.  AHRQ reports that at the national level, QIO-driven clinical measures for heart disease and pneumonia showed a combined rate of improvement that was almost four times higher than non-QIO measures – nine per cent compared to 2.5 per cent.  For example, 65 percent of the District of Columbia indicators that Delmarva Foundation addressed improved, according to the AHRQ report.  In contrast, only 49 percent of the non-foundation indicators improved. 

In addition to the AHRQ report, information gathered by Medicare shows specific improvements in several quality of care measures by providers across all healthcare settings.

For example:

• Through Delmarva Foundation’s collaboration with District hospitals, the appropriate care measure rate (a composite of 10 heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia measures) improved by 22 percent in less than three years.
• District nursing homes working with Delmarva Foundation to address statewide quality improvement projects related to pain, pressure ulcers, and walking showed a 19 percent improvement.  Nursing homes that were part of Delmarva Foundation’s focused improvement group improved in the areas of pain and pressure ulcers by 22 percent.
• Physicians in the District continue to make strides in improving the quality of diabetes care. Rates of diabetes care (A1c, Lipid profile, and eye exam) among physicians working with Delmarva Foundation improved by 28 percent.

For more information on quality indicators or any of the quality improvement resources available at Delmarva Foundation, please visit www.delmarvafoundation.org.  To view AHRQ’s full National Healthcare Quality State Snapshot Report, please visit www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov.

###

About Delmarva Foundation
Delmarva Foundation is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality in over 20 states. Since 1973, Delmarva has assisted in improving care in hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical practices and health plans. Delmarva performs quality improvement, quality assurance, utilization review, external quality review and Program Safeguard activities. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Easton, Maryland with other offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC; Columbia, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida. For more information, please visit Delmarva Foundation on the web at www.delmarvafoundation.org.