June 04, 2010 01:45am EST 

In a nation where health care is constantly changing, The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (or the MHA) stands strong as the most effective health care advocate in all of Michigan. The MHA is an association created to advocate for hospitals and for the patients that they serve, representing all 144 community hospitals located in Michigan. Since 1919, the MHA has been using the legislative and regulatory arenas to fight for the interests of its member hospitals and health systems, striving for the utlimate goal of providing quality, cost-effective and accessible health care. Michiganians can thank the MHA for their service to their communities, including promoting better health, improving the quality of patient care, and improving medical coverage for uncompromising quality health care at an affordable price.
A perfect example of how the MHA strives for its goals is their MHA Keystone Center for Patient Safety & Quality, created in March of 2003. The MHA Keystone Center was created to bring together hospitals, patient safety experts, and evidence-based practices to improve patient safety and reduce costs. Already bringing many hospitals together on one solid improvement initiative, the MHA brags significant, measurable patient safety improvements. Without question one of the most successful programs of its kind, the MHA continues to save lives and reduce health care costs with the improvement of the quality of care — nothing to complain about there. In fact, The National Quality Forum (NQF) and The Joint Commission seem to agree, as they awarded the MHA Keystone Center with the 2009 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award. As Spencer Johnson, president of the MHA said:
“Winning the 2009 Eisenberg Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality Award is a testament to the committed clinical teams, administrators and trustees of Michigan’s nonprofit hospitals. In 2003, Michigan’s 144 community hospitals voluntarily set a goal to be among the best in the nation in patient safety and quality. The MHA Keystone Center was established by the Michigan Health & Hospital Association and its member hospitals to develop a culture of patient safety statewide. Through the determination and teamwork of Michigan hospitals and the MHA Keystone Center, the quality of patient care is a hallmark of our state.
The MHA Keystone Center for Patient Safety & Quality, as a whole, has consistently demonstrated a commitment to support clinicians in their voluntary endeavors to improve patient care. Our intensive care unit collaborative — MHA Keystone: ICU — has brought hospitals together in an unprecedented manner that empowers clinicians to create lasting change. The MHA Keystone Center, in each of its collaboratives, continues to strike a balance between the adaptive work of improving a culture of safety and the technical improvement of care interventions, which ultimately results in desired outcomes of care.”
The MHA Keystone Center won the award for “Innovation In Patient Safety and Quality at the National Level”, much thanks to their interventions to improve patient safety and prevent harm in the ICU. Two particular interventions were acknowledged, a focus on eliminating central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Programs (CUSP), for producing results in eliminating CLABSIs in Michigan hospital ICUs. With these interventions, more than 1,800 lives were saved and 140,700 hospital days avoided all in addition to $271 million saved in health care dollars in only five years, numbers that are unprecedented for this type of program.
The award is only one of many accomplishments by the MHA in their patient safety movement, which started after the 1999 release of the Institute of Medicine’s report “To Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System.” The response of Michigan hospitals to the report have led them to work to ensure the greatest possible care for their patients, leading Michigan hospitals as national leaders in the field of patient safety and quality.
Additionally, the MHA has launched a new social media advocacy campaign aimed to promote their message “Health Care in Jeopardy” to increase the reach of their message. The four sites they are campaigning on are Wordpress (a blog), Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. You may find out more information on their main website as well.