Meet the Team 

Meet Melanie Ronda, MSN, RN, Assistant Director of Health Care Quality Improvement, Nursing Home Lead for NY, NJ, and Ohio, and the Infection Preventionist for IPRO.

Melanie has been in the healthcare field for 25 years. Her experience includes roles in acute, primary, and long-term care. Before joining IPRO, Melanie was a former director of nursing in long-term care, where she was responsible for infection prevention and control, among other areas.

From hosting office hours on Infection Prevention to sharing the latest policies and procedures, Melanie is committed to navigating providers through the ever-changing infection prevention landscape.

As a contractor under the CMS QIN-QIO program, the IPRO QIN-QIO has experts like Melanie available to assist you at no charge.



Learn more about working together to make our communities healthier and more equitable.

Upcoming Education

Clostridioides Difficile: Update On Diagnosis And Treatment In Acute And Post-acute Care Settings

Join us today, Wednesday, September 7, 1-2 PM ET 

Speaker: Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, Director Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Prevention Program, University of Rochester Medical Center. 

In this session, you will learn to:

• List the most recent treatment guidelines for C. difficile infection
• Identify the role of diagnostic stewardship in optimizing C. difficile testing
• Describe the importance of communication across care transitions in improving the management of patients with C. difficile infection

Join the Anticoagulation Forum for New 2022 CHEST Guideline: Perioperative Management of Antithrombotic Therapy

September 9, 12 Noon ET 

IPRO’s Management of Anticoagulation in the Peri-Procedural Period mobile app is referenced in the updated 2022 CHEST Guideline: Perioperative Management of Antithrombotic Therapy. 

Please join the guideline authors, Dr. James Douketis and Dr. Alex Spyropoulos, to learn more in this free webinar offered by the Anticoagulation Forum.

CMS Updates the Nursing Home Requirements of Participation: What Pharmacists and Facilities Need to Know

Two dates: September 21, and September 28 (live-replay), 12-1 PM ET

Attending either of the two sessions will provide 1 contact hour of ACPE accredited continuing pharmacist education.

Visit the registration page to see speakers and learning objectives.

Resource Library

Curated by our experts, the IPRO QIN-QIO resource library contains tools, links and information on everything from care coordination to COVID-19, CKD to social determinants of health. Use the Resource Picker to find what you need, or check out this month's featured resources:

The words providers choose can lead patients to avoid, delay, or stop seeking healthcare. The tools in People Matter, Words Matter from the American Hospital Association include downloadable posters about patient-centered, respectful language.

Our guide to IPRO QIN-QIO data dashboards and reports is a list of how to find the tools we have to help providers. These resources can help you find areas of opportunity and compare your facilities with community or state-level data.

Opioid, Pain Management, and Behavioral Health

September is National Recovery Month – celebrating the personal successes of those in recovery, promoting and supporting new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, and recognizing the valuable work of those who provide essential treatment and recovery support. Read more…

Emergency Prep, Infection Control, and Patient Safety 

September is National Preparedness Month. This observance is intended to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies, and engaging providers, community-based organizations and community residents to create a plan. According to CMS' Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers, all 17 provider/supplier types must have an Emergency Preparedness Plan as part of their Conditions of Participation. Many states require other entities, such as community-based organizations, to have their own plans. 

Read more, or take a moment to complete this brief questionnaire to let us know if you have a plan or would like more education on this important topic. (Nursing homes use this questionnaire.)

Did you know September is Sepsis Awareness Month? Download the Toolkit for Sepsis Awareness now. 

Falls Prevention Awareness Week is September 18-24. Falls continue to be a national public health concern. Join us as we raise awareness to reduce the risk of falls for older adult patients and help older adults live without the fear of falling. Check out The National Council on Aging Falls Prevention Week Toolkit.

The Peer Support Toolkit from the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety was created for health care organizations that want to do more to support clinicians and staff after difficult adverse events. Use these tools and the accompanying implementation guide to lay the foundation for a successful peer support program

Immunizations

Influenza vaccination is recommended for all people 6 months of age and older and the pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for all those under the age of 2 and all those 65 years and older. Those between the ages of 2–64 years with certain medical conditions should also receive a pneumococcal vaccine. Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccine series is recommended for all people 6 months of age and older. IPRO’s toolkit on Influenza, Pneumococcal and COVID-19 Immunization is designed to help healthcare organizations with routine vaccination assessment. 

Prevention, Management & Care Coordination

Are you looking for a guide to measuring blood pressure accurately? Share this 1-pager with your team and your patients to help get better results. 

IPRO has curated a resource guide called Improving Care Transitions A Guide to Tools & Resources for Providers and Patients. Here you will find several resources and tools available that you can implement to improve care transitions between settings and reduce potentially avoidable hospital utilization. 

Health Equity

Don't miss our September Health Equity Newsletter, packed with the latest on how you can work to eliminate healthcare disparities. This month, we focus on food insecurity, trends in social needs screening in healthcare, and more.