Calais Regional Hospital is pleased to announce its selection and participation in the Aligning Forces for Quality Transforming Care at the Bedside program (AF4Q TCAB). Bringing together hospital teams from across the state to lead improvements in the quality and safety of patient care, it is a part of an innovative nationwide program led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated to improving the health and health care of all Americans.

Nursing and frontline staff at CRH will work together with other hospitals across Maine to lead efforts to improve the quality and safety of patient care by piloting and testing new innovations at a local and community level. CRH will improve the quality and safety of patient care, increase the vitality and retention of our nurses and frontline staff, engage and improve the patient’s experience of care and improve the effectiveness of our entire care team.

“As Maine and the nation looks at improving care, it is important that we lead by example and provide local models of reforms that are good for everyone,” said Cheryl Zwingman-Bagley, CNO. “Calais Regional Hospital’s participation in this program shows that we are committed to being a leader in improving patient care and increasing efficiency to produce better outcomes.”

Since 2007, the state of Maine has been targeted by RWJF with resources to improve health care. In all, 16 regions of the country have been designated as part of this program. In each region, a range of efforts to help doctors, nurses and hospitals improve quality – as well as engage consumers to be better patients – is being tested.

“By participating in AF4Q TCAB, nurses at CRH will be on the front lines, working together with others across Maine to formulate innovative ways to improve the care they deliver,” said Zwingman-Bagley. “This program will empower our staff to reduce adverse events and unanticipated deaths, reduce harm from falls and implement evidence-based care.”

The AF4Q TCAB program in Maine is being convened by Maine Quality Counts. It is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative, a signature effort to lift the overall quality of health care in targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities and provide models for national reform. Nationwide, 16 communities are currently participating in AF4Q. Local hospitals were recently asked to apply to participate in this hospital-based quality improvement component of the initiative.