was funded through a grant from the Claude Worthington
Benedum Foundation.
RethinkYourDrinkWV.com allows visitors to type in their
favorite beverage and find better options. The website also provides
educators, parents and community leaders with access to fact
sheets, learning activities, a sugar calculator and other resources.
The Harvard School of Public Health points to soda and
other sugary drinks as a major contributor to the obesity epi-
demic. Studies show that people consuming sugary drinks do
not compensate for the high-calorie content by eating less food.
In addition to obesity, sugary drinks are a driving factor in
high blood sugar, tooth decay and poor heart health.
Quality Insights Project Tests Paramedic-Delivered
Expanded Care Services in West Virginia Communities
Quality Insights has launched a project to help emergency
medical service (EMS) providers offer expanded care to people
with Medicare who live in West Virginia. The goal of the col-
laboration is to lessen unnecessary hospital admissions and
emergency department visits while enhancing access to qual-
ity care for the state’s most vulnerable and rural residents.
Funding for the project is provided by the Centers for Medi-
care & Medicaid Services.
Hospital readmissions and emergency department visits
are common and costly, particularly for people with chronic
conditions and the elderly. In an effort to address this issue,
Quality Insights is supporting EMS providers who offer mobile
integrated health care services—commonly called community
paramedicine—to help patients and hospitals with high rates
of emergency department use or a large number of patients
who are frequently readmitted.
Community paramedicine is an emerging health care deliv-
ery model that increases access to basic services through the
use of specially trained EMS providers in an expanded role.
Community paramedics provide care at home under the su-
pervision of a physician or an advanced practice nurse. They
can help fill gaps in rural health delivery caused by a shortage
in available providers as well as long travel times to hospitals
or clinics. Community paramedics are also considered trusted
health care professionals and are often members of the com-
munity where they serve.
“This project aims to provide appropriate care to the right
patient at the right time and in the right setting,” says Beckey
Cochran, Quality Insights’ quality innovation network direc-
tor. “Patients will remain at home for non-emergency medical
needs that do not require hospital or emergency department
services. This will hopefully result in a reduction in unnecessary
hospital readmissions and emergency department visits and,
more importantly, improve patient safety and access to care.”
Deer Appointed to Coalition on Chronic Pain Management
Timothy Deer, MD, president of the Saint Francis Hospital
Spine and Nerve Center, has been appointed to serve on the
Coalition on Chronic Pain Management.
The purpose of this coalition, which was created by Senate
Bill 339 during the 2017 legislative session, is to provide
Combining real-time data
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Steven Capuzzi
Highmark Pharmacist
who supports the needs of
our hundreds of thousands
of members in West Virginia
78
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE