Barbara Briggs is from Omaha, Nebraska and has been on the Medical Review Board as a Patient Representative since January 2017. Barbara has also served on the Patient Advisory Council since 2018. Ms. Briggs has been a renal patient for about 20 years and currently has a transplant.

Barbara says that being on the Medical Review Board is a learning experience for her and an opportunity to interact with staff on various subjects. Her advice for patients is, “Stay focused. Follow your doctors instructions and control your dialysis journey.” 
Registration Now Open!
Network 12's Annual Network Council Webinar
Please join Network 12 for the Annual Network Council Webinar on Thursday, May 16 from 10-11am.

Network staff will present on the Quality Improvement Activities (QIAs), Network goals and other pertinent information that you won't want to miss!

This webinar should be attended by a representative from each dialysis unit and transplant center.
Event:  Annual Network Council Webinar
Date:  Thursday, May 16
Time:  10-11 a.m. CT
Monthly Action Required: New Process for Updating Facility Personnel
Staff turnover is a common problem we all share in the dialysis world. Communicating with you effectively will help improve the results of our various shared quality improvement activities.

As you know, maintaining patient data in the ESRD system (currently Crownweb) is mandated in the Dialysis Conditions for Coverage your organization agreed to when you were first certified by Medicare.
That responsibility also extends to maintaining an accurate list of key personnel in Crownweb.

All of the Network’s contact data is derived from the names and email addresses you maintain in Crownweb.

Important News about ESRD.Providers.Exchange
Starting May 15, ESRD.Providers.Exchange is moving to a Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) login process which enhances the security around the application and your account information. 2FA uses your email address in the verification process.

Engage Your Patients and Staff

Are you looking for something new to engage your patients and staff in their learning? Network 12 and several of our community partners offer a wide variety of videos and tutorials — some even include free CEUs! 

Here are a few of our favorites. Click on the videos below to watch. Check out Network 12's website's Key Activities page for more exciting opportunities!
Bloodstream Infection Reduction & Vascular Access
Home Therapy
Transplant
Vocational Rehabilitation
May Topic of the Month | My Life: Work & Play
Patient Engagement Calendar monthly topic for May
"My Life: Work & Play"

May Patient Engagement Action
Learn about options for work, volunteering and being active.
This month, “Be Active in Your Care” patient engagement calendar topic is “My Life: Work & Play” thus focusing on encouraging patients to find out more about vocational rehabilitation, work, volunteering and traveling.

Use the “My Life: Work & Play” Topic of the Month sheet to identify resources that would be helpful to improve the Plan of Care process at your clinic; educate patients on Advance Directives and consider ways to acknowledge patient transitions. 

You can also check out the Patient Engagement Showcase to see bulletin board ideas shared by dialysis facility staff from throughout the Network.

You can find all these patient engagement resources HERE.
June Topic of the Month
Patient Engagement Planning Sheet
My Choice: Home Options

As part of the Network’s efforts to support facility level patient engagement, each month we provide a “Topic of the Month” sheet for the upcoming monthly topic in the 2019 “Be Active in Your Care” Patient Engagement Calendar . We encourage you to review the resources and activities on the topic My Choice: Home Options topic sheet to help you plan a patient engagement activity encouraging in-center patients to consider home dialysis

The sheet has educational resources as well as ideas on how to use the resources to develop a patient engagement activity. We encourage you to work with your Network Patient Representative (NPR) to discuss what information and activities they think would be most helpful to the patients at your facility. 
Patient Engagement in ACTION!
Kailey Kelly, Dialysis Manager at Box Butte General Hospital-Dialysis shared how their staff and their new Network Patient Representative (NPR), Sandy Suetsugu put on an open house for their hospital and community to spread awareness for organ donation. 

Ms. Kelly described the event:

This included checking the registry to make sure you are on it if you marked it on your driver’s license or signing up to be an organ donor. We also had information on Living Donation. During this time we offered food and beverages, T-shirt sales ($5 from each shirt is being donated to LIVE ON NEBRASKA). They also gave tours of our dialysis unit to the hospital staff and public while providing general dialysis information. NBC-Nebraska News came out and interviewed Sandy and a few transplant recipients that were included in their local newspaper too!”

GREAT JOB getting the word out on Organ Donation!
Do you have a picture or project you’d like to share that is not part of a Network QIA? Share your Patient Engagement activity by reporting HERE
Delmer Esters | 1964-2019
Patient Advisory Council Update
The Network would like to share our deepest sympathies to the family of Delmer Esters (1964-2019). Delmer served on the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) since 2016 and was the PAC Chair beginning in October 2017.

Delmer was passionate about helping others and made everyone around him feel special. He made a lasting impact on the work the Network does as we benefited from his leadership, his generous spirit and positive attitude.

We are grateful that he shared his journey with us and will miss Delmer dearly. 
Upcoming Events
Patient Experience of Care
Learning and Action Network Webinars
May NPR Connection Calls

The "Ten Minute Topic" will be My Choices: Home Options. Join the call to talk about home dialysis, the benefits of home and the resources available to help educate patients about home dialysis.

Date: May 9 | May 10
Time: 1:00 PM CST
For audio access : 1-888-537-7715
Access Code: 885 90 323#

The goal of these calls is to provide an opportunity for NPRs to connect with the Network and each other, share ideas and learn what they can do at their clinic to improve the patient experience at their clinic
Very Important Patient (VIP):
Peer to Peer Call Series

We want all our patients to feel like VIPs! Make sure to share with other patients and join the call series. Several people from our Patient Advisory Council will be sharing about their experience with working and vocational rehabilitation! Download and share the flyers with all your patients!

Date: Wednesday, May 29
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM CT
For audio access : 1-888-537-7715
Access Code: 885 90 323#
Resources & Ideas to Improve
the Patient Experience of Care
Decreasing Conflict
and Creating Bridges

The Decreasing Dialysis Patient/Provider Conflict (DPC) toolkit is a wonderful tool to help staff manage conflict effectively, improve communication, and increase patient and staff satisfaction.

Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and System and Patient Experience
The "Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) and the Patient Experience" is available. The presenters shared great information on strategies for using ICH-CAHPS data to improve the patient experience and how your team approaches quality improvement.
Best Practices for Improving
the Patient Experience
Patients were recently greeted at Chromalloy American Kidney Center (CAKC) to what Brenda Bingel , RN, MSN, calls “Lobby Days,” an event organized to bring more attention to the occurrence of depression in dialysis patients.

Expiring Soon: CME from CDC
What You Need to Know About Infection Control

In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Medscape launched a series of six CME/CE activities addressing the key issues surrounding infection prevention in healthcare facilities for physicians, nurses, and pharmacists.



Upcoming Calls
ESRD NCC Quality Improvement Activities LAN

The ESRD NCC hosts a series of calls based on topics of the CMS Quality Improvement Activities (QIAs). These include: Blood Stream Infection (BSI), Home Modality, Transplant, and Depression. ALL ESRD facilities are invited to these meetings, because improving the lives of dialysis patients in these areas is a global goal.

Dialysis During Disasters
Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Time: 1- 2 p.m. CT

The Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Program would like to invite you to attend an informational webinar titled "Dialysis During Disasters".
                                                    
This event is open to the public and is geared towards professionals in the fields of Emergency Management, Public Health (ESF-8), Healthcare Coalitions, and additional stakeholders responsible for disaster response and recovery.

Please  click here  to register for this event. Space is limited, reserve your spot immediately!

If you have any questions or are in need of any additional information please contact Keely Lenoir .
REMEMBER: NHSN Data Deadlines
NHSN is the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system. NHSN provides facilities, states, regions, and the nation with data needed to identify problem areas, measure progress of prevention efforts, and ultimately eliminate healthcare-associated infections.
Facilities should:

Contact the NHSN Helpdesk ( [email protected] , subject line ‘Dialysis’) with any questions.
This resource was developed while under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Contract #HHSM-500-2016-00012C. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 19.Q-ESRD12.05.102