The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) have established the Northwest Safety and Quality Partnership. The new partnership combines health care quality and safety initiatives from both associations to serve all 169 hospitals and health systems in Washington state and Oregon, making health care safer for patients and caregivers in both states.... Read More >>

Effective primary care practices are essential for optimizing patient outcomes, lowering costs and caring for patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Moving toward a team-based model can seem like a daunting undertaking. The MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation at WSHA member Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute has developed the Primary Care Team Guide, with step-by-step direction for establishing this model.... Read More >>

On July 19, the Washington State Department of Commerce announced $39 million in grants to health care providers to improve behavioral health care across the state. The grants were issued to 18 providers, including WSHA members Virginia Mason Memorial Hospital, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and Navos.... Read More >>

In 2011, the Sepsis Alliance designated September as Sepsis Awareness Month to put a spotlight on sepsis and sepsis awareness, offering free resources for health care systems their website.... Read More >>

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) has selected the Arcora Foundation — the foundation of Delta Dental of Washington — as an “Apparently Successful Bidder” for the Medicaid Dental Managed Care Request for Proposal. Per the selection, the Arcora Foundation, in partnership with Delta Dental of California and Delta Dental of Washington, will work with HCA and providers across the state to improve oral health care for Medicaid recipients in Washington.... Read More >>

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) reported June 5 that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN) initiatives have been successful in making care safer across the country. WSHA serves as one of CMS’s HIIN partners.... Read More >>

Eleven health insurers have filed 74 health plans for Washington State’s 2019 individual and family health insurance market with an average rate increase of 19.08 percent. There are no bare counties, though 14 counties will have only one insurer selling through the exchange.... Read More >>

MultiCare Health System opened the doors to its new inpatient hospital at Covington Medical Center on April 24. ... Read More >>

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced April 19 that it is lowering its carrier assessment rate by 55 percent, from $7.46 to $3.36 per member per month, on all 2019 health plans purchased through Washington Healthplanfinder. ... Read More >>

I spent last week on a medical mission in Nicaragua with my family and a team of providers, offering medical care to residents of several villages near our home base in San Ramon. It's been an annual tradition for us for the last five years, and a rewarding way to give back using my abilities as a nurse. ... Read More >>