Colorectal cancer is the second most prevalent cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Early detection and treatment can save lives, and Computed Tomographic Colonography (CTC) is a promising new method of cancer screening. The March, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology features an article co-authored by former HRET Director of Research Megan McHugh, PhD and HRET Researcher Awo Osei-Anto, MPP, “Adoption of CT Colonography by U.S. Hospitals.” The article addresses the percentage of U.S. hospitals that offered the service in 2005-2008, and explores barriers and facilitators to adoption of this new technology. Click here to access the article for free.

Hospital leaders work hard every day to provide their patients with high quality care that is free of injury and harm. While most hospital deaths are not due to failures in care delivery, many deaths are preventable. Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence (HPOE) has released the Health Care Leaders Action Guide: Hospital Strategies for Reducing Preventable Mortality, the latest in its series of guides and toolkits designed to assist hospital leaders in improving quality and performance. This guide supports the American Hospital Association’s strategic performance commitment on eliminating preventable mortality that is included in the 2011-13 AHA Strategic Plan. It outlines eight steps hospital and health system leaders should consider when thinking about ways to reduce preventable mortality. Click here to download a copy of this latest HPOE guide.

The April issue of Health Services Research features articles on patient-centered care, public reporting of performance, health care utilization, and provider behavior. The issue also includes a special section, “Causality in Health Services Research” and a free article, “Performance Characteristics of a Methodology to Quantify Adverse Events over Time in Hospitalized Patients,” by Paul J. Sharek, Gareth Parry, et al. Visit http://www.hsr.org/ to learn more and to access abstracts and articles.

Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence, the American Hospital Association’s strategic platform to accelerate performance improvement and support health reform implementation, has compiled hundreds of case studies, which are available at http://www.hpoe.org/. The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) recently shared profiles of its Pinnacle Award applicants with HPOE so that the profiles may be made available at http://www.hpoe.org/ and can inspire other hospital leaders about performance improvement. The HANYS Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety recognizes organizations that promote performance improvement and patient safety. Award applicants submit profiles of performance improvement projects, which are judged by independent health care quality professionals. HPOE will gladly post other association awards to this site. For further information, please contact hpoe@aha.org or (877) 243-0027.

On Monday, March 21 Dr. Scott Ellner, DO, Director of Surgical Quality for Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, spoke with H&HN Daily about his experience with the AHA-NPSF Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship. In the podcast Dr. Ellner spoke about why he joined the fellowship program, about his Action Learning Project (a patient safety improvement project completed by all fellows throughout the fellowship year), and about how the program has helped him to improve patient safety at his organization. Click here to listen to the podcast.

Hospitals and health systems and their employees are critical resources in their communities because of their leadership and mission. As we move toward a health care delivery system that is focused even more on health and wellness, hospital and health system employees have a major role in leading the way and serving as role models for healthy living and fitness in their communities. The American Hospital Association’s latest long-range planning report, A Call to Action: Creating a Culture of Health, explores how hospitals can expand their health and wellness activities to provide the environment, programs, and incentives for hospital employees to serve as such role models. AHA and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration hosted a national webinar for hospital and health system executives on February 23 that explored the findings of this report and the role of hospitals and health systems in creating a culture of health among their employees. Click here to access the free archived webinar, or contact hpoe@aha.org with questions.

Applications for the 2011-2012 AHA-NPSF Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship, co-sponsored by AHA and the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), are still being accepted. To reserve your space today please call Shawn Foster at (312) 422-2933. For more information on the program, visit http://www.hpoe.org/fellowships/PSLF/index.shtml.