MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

A New Season for NAHQ
This year, September marks a time for welcome—and for welcome change. Our warmest hellos to those of you who have just arrived in Boston for the annual conference, and we welcome all of you, our online readers, to the new look and feel of NAHQ.

SPOTLIGHT

Dennis O’Leary, The Joint Commission
Dennis S. O’Leary, MD, president of the Joint Commission for the past 21 years, will become president emeritus on January 1, 2008, when Mark R. Chassin, MD MPP MPH, takes over as head of the organization. O’Leary recently spoke to NAHQ E-News to discuss past efforts and future directions in healthcare quality.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

A Time for Transparency
If your heart skipped a beat last June when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services posted hospital mortality rate comparisons on its Hospital Compare Web site, you were not alone. It also sent hearts aflutter among editors at newsrooms nationwide.

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Barbara Corn to Serve as NQF Council Vice Chair
Barbara Corn, MA BSN RN CPHQ, begins a 2-year term this month as vice chair on the National Quality Forum’s Quality Measurement, Research and Improvement Council.

NAHQ Member Runs for State Office
Patricia Terry, MPA RN CPHQ, NAHQ member and former president of the Washington State Association for Healthcare Quality, is running for office in Washington State as a Democratic candidate in the 2008 race for state representative.

JHQ receives APEX Award of Excellence
The September/October 2006 issue of the Journal for Healthcare Quality, a special issue on rural healthcare quality, recently received a 2007 APEX Award of Excellence in the category of Magazines and Journals—Writing.

In Other News…
•    The U.S. Department for Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently published Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes:  A User’s Guide.
•    Applications are now available for the 2008 American Hospital Association—McKesson Quest for Quality Prize, which honors leadership and innovation in patient care quality, safety, and commitment by hospitals.
•    The Institute for Healthcare Improvement began a new program to spread collaborative self-management support to promote partnerships among patients, families, and providers.

CERTIFICATION NEWS

Recertify Your Soon-to-Expire CPHQ Credential
If your Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality certification expires on December 31, 2007, the Healthcare Quality Certification Board encourages you to recertify your credential early and demonstrate your continued competence in the field.

READERSHIP POLL

Do you like the new newsletter?
What other topics would you like to see covered in NAHQ E-News?

MEMBERS ON THE MOVE

Congratulations to Penny Hollander Feldman and Brenda Hansen, winners of the Journal for Healthcare Quality’s 2007 Golden Pen Award.

Deborah Audley, MBA RN CPHQ, senior director of accreditation at Healthways, Nashville, TN, has been appointed to the 2007 Board of Examiners of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal."