Systems Change Grants for Community Living Compendium Third Edition West Virginia QA/QI 2003

2003 Research and Demonstration Grants — Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Home and Community Based Services

WEST VIRGINIA

Grant Information

Name of Grantee: West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
Title of Grant: Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Project
Type of Grant: Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Home and Community Based Services
Amount of Grant: $499,995
Year Original Funding Received: 2003

Contact Information

Nancy Atkins, Principle Investigator
304–558–1700
nancyatkins@wvdhhr.org

Julie Shelton, Project Director
Office of Secretary
1900 Kanawha Boulevard
Capitol Complex Building 3, Room 206
Charleston, WV 25305
304–558–6006
julieshelton@wvdhhr.org

Subcontractor(s)

Marcus Canaday, Program Manager
Center for Excellence in Disabilities
West Virginia University
304–293–4692

Target Population(s)

Persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities, elderly persons, and persons with disabilities.

Goals

Develop, implement, and support a quality assurance process and improvement infrastructure in the design of home and community based services (HCBS).
Develop and implement a data collection strategy for real time and retrospective information to assess the performance of waiver services.
Select, design, and implement quality assurance and quality improvement (QA/QI) strategies for the state's HCBS waivers.
Develop and implement a QA/QI system that involves HCBS participants, their families, advocates, and allies in active roles.
Evaluate and upgrade West Virginia's technology-based, direct care service management and data collection system.

Activities

Define a core measurement set for assessing the quality of HCBS for the Aged and Disabled (A/D) waiver, and expand the core measurement set for the mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD) waiver.
Compile and organize existing data and information on the performance of A/D waiver services within the core measurement sets.
Administer select questions from the Participant Experience Survey (PES) to MR/DD and A/D waiver participants to gather additional information on the waivers, and analyze the results.
Design a template for A/D waiver management reports using descriptive program data and data collected for core measurement.
Prioritize identified areas of quality concerns, select a priority issue, initiate QI projects, and disseminate the results.
Train consumers as interviewers for the PES, conduct focus groups with consumers, and engage consumers who are members of statewide, long-term care task forces/work groups to inform development of a QA/QI system.
Assess the required information technology functions of the A/D waiver and determine the technology needed to support these functions.

Abstract

The project will strengthen West Virginia's ability to assure the health, welfare, and dignity of individuals participating in HCBS waiver services, by developing an effective and systematic QA/QI system that enlists people with disabilities, their family members, advocates, and allies as active participants in the process. Current and former waiver participants will play an active role in implementing and monitoring this project. The project strengthens the four basic components of an effective and ongoing quality initiative: design, discovery, remediation, and system improvement.

The project will create a quality assurance process and improvement infrastructure with QA/QI councils and a quality improvement team. The QA/QI councils will provide guidance and feedback for the development of ongoing quality initiatives within their respective waiver programs. Each council will consist of current and former waiver participants (or their legal representatives), family members, direct care workers, providers, and advocates and allies of people with disabilities. A quality improvement team, comprising waiver staff, staff from the Bureau for Medical Services (BMS), and participant representatives from each waiver, will oversee and coordinate the efforts of both councils.

The project will strengthen West Virginia's ability to compile and use real time and retroactive data to assess the performance of both HCBS waiver programs. Approximately 300 participants in the A/D waiver will be surveyed to assess their experience in the program. All existing data will be compiled and organized to assess core measurement sets. The results of the project will be distributed to HCBS waiver stakeholders for their feedback. This will allow the project and both HCBS waivers to continually improve the quality assurance and improvement process in West Virginia.