York and Adams Counties Selected for Quality Improvement Program
York and Adams counties and 13 other communities across the nation have been selected for a $300 million health care quality improvement project.
The Aligning Forces for Quality project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, aims to:
- Help physicians improve the quality of care for patients
- Give patients information to be better partners with their doctors
Improve care inside hospitals
- Reduce inequality in care for patients of different races and ethnicities
The Healthy York County Coalition (HYCC) will receive advice, technical assistance, and training, along with more than $1 million over three years and access to additional grants for specific projects.
The foundation said its research shows that quality of care can vary dramatically by location and race. For instance, the percentage of patients who had a leg amputated as a complication of peripheral vascular disease or diabetes varied by race and region.
African Americans lost legs to amputations at a rate nearly five times that of whites. Louisiana had the highest rate of amputations, while Utah had the lowest.
In York and Adams counties, three in 10 women insured by Medicare are not getting recommended mammograms, and nearly one in 10 diabetics are not getting important blood tests.
Last Updated: 6/9/2008