Havre, Montana – October, 2013 –The Dialysis Unit at Northern Montana Hospital has been recognized as a “Top Performer” by the Northwest Renal Network. Brenda Sturm, MSN FACHE, Vice President of Patient Care Services at Northern Montana Hospital said, “Being recognized for our employee’s hard work and team efforts is a great honor. We strive to provide the best facility to our community; knowing that we are headed in the right direction is very satisfying.”
The Northwest Renal Network is a private non-profit corporation whose mission is to promote optimal dialysis and transplant care for kidney patients in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The Network does many things to promote optimal dialysis and transplant care. They provide information on kidney failure (often called End Stage Renal Disease or ESRD), patient care, treatment options and services. They help with patient concerns and complaints and work with dialysis providers to improve quality of care. They also collect data for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Network’s statement of work reflects the CMS goal of “better care of the individual through patient and family centered care at the facility level.” In an effort to identify current facility practices in the region, the Network has reviewed each of the facility’s most recent “In-Center Hemodialysis – Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems” (ICH-CAHPS) survey results. The ICH-CAHPS Survey is designed to measure the experiences of people receiving in-center hemodialysis care from Medicare-certified dialysis facilities. The Northern Montana Healthcare Dialysis Unit’s score on these surveys placed them at the top of the list.
The Network has asked the Unit to share their “Best Practices” with other units in the Network. This will help the other units to improve their patient education and orientation. “The focus going forward is to continue striving for improved ICH-CAHPS scores and to set an example for other Dialysis units in our region. We’re proud of our team here at Northern Montana Hospital” adds Brenda Sturm.