Quality Network Lauds Accountable Care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 9, 2019
CONTACT: Melissa Hodgson | 985-898-4496 |mhodgson@stph.org
STQN Announces 2019 Second Quarter Medical Director’s Award
COVINGTON –– St. Tammany Quality Network presented the 2019 second quarter Medical Director Award to Dr. Joseph Landers, Dr. Andrew Baier, Dr. Daniel Illie, and Ms. Kathy Felps for the development and implementation of the Accountable Care Unit (ACU) at St. Tammany Parish Hospital (STPH). The ACU team-based care model includes hospital medicine, clinical pharmacists, attending nurses, case managers and social workers all of whom round daily at the patient’s bedside. The team-based model focuses on the patient’s needs and goals of care of a particular nursing unit. This program is the first of its kind in Louisiana.
“The ACU model has been a game changer at STPH.” said Michael K. Hill MD, STQN medical director. “This is a team-based model that includes the patient and their families in the care they receive both in the hospital and after discharge. The ACU has already resulted in improved patient satisfaction score, decreased length of stay, and reduced patient readmissions”
Kathy Felps DNSc RN, director of nursing at STPH, was instrumental for proposing and spearheading the ACU model and has been with STPH two years. Dr. Landers, head of hospital medicine, has been on the staff of STPH for 20 years. Dr. Illie is a hospitalists who is currently chair of medical services at STPH and has been on the medical staff for 11 years. Dr. Baier has been involved in the readmission reduction program at STPH and has been a hospitalists at STPH for 7 years.
STQN continuously strives to define and improve the healthcare needs of the Northshore community. Promoting wellness is a key component of this quest.
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The St. Tammany Quality Network is a physician-led organization that demonstrates a commitment to quality and outcomes by creating a medical community aligned around quality initiatives and payer engagement; using a common information technology platform to capture disease specific data to assist in proactive patient care; and collaborate on patient-centric initiatives that enhance the quality and improve efficiency of health care delivery.