Quality Advisor

Join Us in Celebrating Our Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) for National CRNA Week 2026!

Recap from Jan. 14 Caring for Wisconsin’s Caregivers: Well-Being First Champion Challenge for Credentialing Kickoff

The Caring for Wisconsin’s Caregivers Well-Being First Champion Challenge for Credentialing Kickoff, a collaborative partnership between the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA), the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW) and the Dr. Lorna Breen Foundation (LBF), brought together statewide leaders and national experts to launch Phase 1 of this workforce well-being initiative. The session focused on reducing stigma and promoting credentialing practices that support Wisconsin’s health care workforce.

The webinar opened with an introduction to the Caring for Wisconsin’s Caregivers initiative by Stefanie (Stef) Simmons, MD, FACEP, Chief Medical Officer and Corey Feist, JD, MBA, CEO and Co-Founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation. They provided the philosophical grounding for the Challenge, sharing the story and mission of the Foundation and highlighting the national movement toward stigma free, supportive environments for health care professionals.

Leaders from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) and the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board (MEB), including Jennifer Garrett, JD, Gregory Schmeling, MD and Renee Parton, shared Wisconsin’s progress on the Well-Being First Champion Challenge for Licensing. They outlined the background and recent updates to licensing questions and described efforts to ensure licensure processes actively support clinician well-being.

Alicia Pilarski, DO, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Chief Well-Being Officer at Froedtert & MCW, provided a system level view of implementing the Well-Being First Champion Challenge for Credentialing. She shared her personal insights and highlighted the importance of aligning credentialing processes with best practices, lessons learned from real world implementation and how organizational culture and communication play a primary role in reducing stigma and fostering a supportive environment for caregivers.

Dr. Simmons closed the session with an overview of national and Wisconsin specific resources and guidance for organizations preparing to participate in the Challenge.

To listen for yourself and explore these resources firsthand, please:

• Access the recording and slide deck here.
• Visit the C4C website: WHA - Caring for Wisconsin’s Caregivers: Health Workforce Well-Being
• Get started on the credentialing challenge in your organization: Create your account and explore practical tools and resources today!
  • Drop into Office Hours for personalized technical support from Dr. Stef Simmons and the LBF credentialing team.

Well-Being First Champion Challenge Office Hours (Teams Meeting link)

• Join the meeting
• January 29 | 10–11 a.m. CT
• February 12 | 12–1 p.m. CT
• March 12 | 9–10 a.m. CT
• April 9 | 3–4 p.m. CT
• May 12 | 4–5 p.m. CT
• June 11 | 8–9 a.m. CT
• July 15 | 12–1 p.m. CT

Highlights From Age-Friendly Webinar Series, Part 1, Featuring Advocate Health

WHA hosted the first part in the Age-Friendly Webinar Series featuring Advocate Health on January 6. The presentation focused on Advocate Health's system-wide approach to scaling the 4Ms (what matters, medication, mentation and mobility) Framework, implementing them across all inpatient united in their 26 Midwest hospitals. This implementation resulted in the health system achieving the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) Committed to Care Excellence recognition by the end of 2025.

Aurora Health, a 2025 Wisconsin Hospital Association Quality Award recipient, began implementing Age-Friendly care in 2017 and formally began systemwide adoption of the Age Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework in 2019, embedding it into standard inpatient care. Implementation was designed and scaled through cohort-based learning aligned with Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and American Hospital Association (AHA) Action Communities, resulting in all 26 Midwest Aurora Health hospitals achieving Level 1 and Level 2 Age Friendly recognition across 189 inpatient units by the end of 2025. Success was driven by strong nursing leadership, executive sponsorship, centralized system leadership, local site champions and standardized tools. These tools include education, workflow, Epic documentation, audit tools, dashboards and an implementation guide allowing for sustainability while supporting local adaptation.

Scale further expanded following the formation of Advocate Aurora Health in December 2022 through the merger of Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care, creating a six state system with more than 60 hospitals and 1,000 ambulatory sites. At the enterprise level, there is a focused commitment to delivering consistent, comprehensive care for older adults by advancing Age Friendly care. This is supported through a governance structure overseen by the Operations Leadership Committee, the Age Friendly Initiative Development Committee and specialized Domain Teams. Designed to establish Advocate Health as an Age Friendly Health System and meet the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate, this work is enhancing care for older adults and their families, improving patient satisfaction and leading the development of tools and practices that optimize care.

The impact is evident at Aurora Medical Center – Summit, a Level II trauma hospital in Waukesha County, where more than half of patients are age 65 or older and falls are the leading trauma diagnosis. After adopting the framework in 2024, the hospital aligned mobility with fall prevention and discharge to home efforts. Using bedside tools including mobility signage, real time dashboards and frontline engagement, such as including friendly unit competitions, the hospital reduced patient falls by 30%, mobilized patients within an average of three hours of admission, reduced pressure injuries and logged more than 1,600 patient walking miles in one year.

Together, these efforts show how Advocate Health is making age friendly care a sustainable, patient centered standard across its Midwest hospitals.

Learn more by listening to the recording of the webinar Age-Friendly Webinar Series featuring Advocate Health and be sure to register for Part 2 of the series, taking place on February 10, from 12–1 p.m. Registration is available here. Also, see Educational Events & Resources section below.

WHA's 2026 Advocacy Day - February 25!

Join us for WHA’s annual Advocacy Day on Wednesday, Feb. 25—a powerful opportunity for hospital employees, trustees and volunteers to make a visible impression in the state capitol. This event offers a chance to connect, learn and influence critical health care issues.

Fourth Annual Health Care Quality Showcase in Conjunction with WHA's Advocacy Day

The Health Care Quality Showcase is a wonderful opportunity to see firsthand the innovative efforts Wisconsin hospitals are making to enhance patient safety and improve care.

We invite you to attend the Health Care Quality Showcase the afternoon of Advocacy Day, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. in the Capitol Rotunda to share your projects and learn about the quality improvement initiatives at other WHA member hospitals. This event highlights the dedicated work of hospital staff to improve patient safety and the quality of care across the state. It’s a great chance to engage with elected officials, Advocacy Day attendees, and the public to raise awareness of the important strides Wisconsin hospitals are making in ensuring safer, higher-quality care for all patients.

If you are interested and would like to participate at the WHA Health Care Quality Showcase, please complete and submit this form.

If you have questions, please contact Nadine Allen or Marcia Egle.

Superior Health Quality Alliance    

More than 40 Wisconsin Hospitals Enrolled in 13 SOW - Recruitment Continues for CMS QIO Program

More than 40 Wisconsin hospitals have already enrolled with Superior Health for CMS's 13 Scope of Work. As the CMS Quality Innovation Network – Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for the Great Lakes Region, Superior Health will provide no-cost technical assistance to eligible providers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. This includes support for chronic disease management, behavioral health integration, patient safety, care coordination and health care quality — all aligned with CMS national goals. Don't miss out on this opportunity.

Learn more about Superior Health’s services and how they can support your organization by attending a webinar Feb. 12 hosted by the Wisconsin Hospital Association. See Educational Events & Resources section for more details.

For questions, please contact info@superiorhealthqa.org or complete the enrollment form to begin the process.

Watch this video highlighting Superior Health Quality Alliance.