Congratulations!
Congratulations to this year’s Quality Improvement Activity (QIA) facilities! Your participation helped the Network meet our CMS goals in 2019!   We know that quality improvement is something all healthcare organizations benefit from as quality of care and patient care are at the center of what we do.

Soon, 2020 QIA information will be available to facilities and regional leaders. We look forward to another successful year in working with all of you! If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to Stephanie Smith , Executive Director . 
A Sad Goodbye

We would like to wish Stephanie Huskey the best of luck as she leaves her role as Quality Improvement Manager. Her successful work on QI activities and commitment to helping facilities with improving patient care is greatly appreciated. She will be missed. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Stephanie Smith or the QI department .
We’re Hiring! Quality Improvement Manager
(RN required, ESRD experience preferred)
The Quality Improvement Manager directs, coordinates, develops, implements, and evaluates Network quality improvement activity (QIA) projects for dialysis facilities in the Network 12 region. This position also supports other functional areas of the organization as directed and performs other duties as assigned. This position is located in the Kansas City, MO office and reports to the Executive Director.
Email Address Change
Please note that our email addresses are changing. We will no longer have our @nw12.esrd.net email extensions. We will now use our corporate email accounts for all communication. It will include first initial, last name @qsource.org ( click here for a list ). If you email our current @nw12.ESRD.net email address, you will receive an auto-reply asking you to use our new @qsource.org email address . Please be patient with us as we go through this transition. 
Topic of the Month
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 .
At this year's Patient Advisory Council (PAC) PACtivate 2019 Summit we celebrated this year's successes and worked together with our PAC to discuss ideas to improve the patient experience of care. We also recognized the first Ardyth M. Boucher Legacy Award winner, Susan Atterberg (pictured with PAC member Mike Ashley).

Upcoming Events
ESRD NCC QIA LAN Call Series
The End Stage Renal Disease National Coordinating Center Quality Improvement Activity Learning and Action Networks (ESRD NCC QIA LANs) hosts a series of calls based on topics of the CMS Quality Improvement Activities (QIAs).

These include:
  • Blood Stream Infection (BSI)
  • Home Modality
  • Transplant
ALL ESRD facilities are invited to these meetings because improving the lives of dialysis patients in these areas is a global goal. Please also share these calls with your patients.

If you have questions, please call the Network office at 816-880-9990 .
Save the Date!
Third Annual Transplant Symposium

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2020
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Continuing Education (CE) Opportunities
40th Annual Dialysis Conference
Kansas City Feb. 8-11, 2020 

Visit the Annual Dialysis Conference website for more information.
CKD ECHO
1st and 3rd Thursdays 12-1 p.m.


The Sept. 25 Making Dialysis Safer Coalition webinar recording about strategies for successful hand hygiene adherence is now available with enduring continuing education credit.
Do You Know or Need Help Identifying Your CCN?
CCN stands for CMS Certification Number. The CMS Certification Number (CCN) is the organization's Medicare Provider Number and is required for Medicare reimbursement.

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 the 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-ESRD12.11.176