St. Luke Community Healthcare was recently awarded the Montana Rural Healthcare Performance Improvement Network’s Quality Improvement Award for their efforts to increase attendance rates for postpartum visits.

Between Jan. 1 and June 30, 96% of women who delivered a baby at St. Luke attended a postpartum visit at or before eight weeks. According to Katie Harding, the hospital’s quality improvement manager, the key for this project’s effectiveness was successful relationship building, persistence and creativity.

“We learned to work as a team and keep focused on our ‘why’, which is providing quality care and ensuring our patients have a great experience,” she said. “Through partnering with new moms to optimize their health, we have a renewed sense of how the care we provide today impacts our community for generations to come.”

The Montana Rural Healthcare Performance Improvement Network (PIN) is a voluntary membership of 50 critical access hospitals throughout the state.  Through this network, member hospitals are able to benchmark their performance with their peers on a variety of financial, utilization and direct patient care measures.

Throughout the last year, Montana Rural Healthcare PIN members have focused on four core improvement areas: patient satisfaction and engagement; transitions of care from the emergency room; emergency room stay times; and assessment and provision of influenza immunizations for inpatients and healthcare workers.

Award winners are required to demonstrate measurable improvement in one care focus area over the previous year and show consistent participation in the PIN data programs. Applicants are also required to demonstrate an active and leading role in supporting PIN quality improvement efforts by participating in PIN events and sharing with peers throughout the state.