Maine Quality Counts

“Voting membership is open to any individual or organization within the State of Maine that supports the mission and purpose of Maine Quality Counts. Membership is granted after receipt of a completed membership application, payment in full of annual dues, and upon a majority vote of the Board.”

“At the annual meeting, the Members shall elect new directors to the board, receive reports on the activities of the corporation, and provide input on the direction of the corporation for the coming year.”

“Members vote on the following actions in addition to electing the Board of Directors: a. amendment of articles of incorporation; b. transfer of a material part of the assets of the corporation other than in the normal course of business; c. borrowing by the corporation in excess of $100,000; d. merger or consolidation of the entity with or into another entity, or conversion of the corporation into another form of entity; or e. dissolution of the corporation”

“The Finance Committee of Maine Quality Counts reviews the Form 990 in detail and makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors for approval. The Board then reviews the Form 990 for accuracy. The Form 990 is filed with the IRS after Board review and approval.”

“All officers and directors are required to disclose any actual or possible conflicts of interest. Each director, principal officer, and member of a committee with governing board delegated power annually signs a statement affirming s/he has received a copy of the conflict of interest policy, has read and understands the policy, has agreed to comply with the policy, and understands Maine Quality Counts is a charitable organization that must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes in order to maintain its federal tax exemption. To ensure Maine Quality Counts operates in a manner consistent with charitable purposes and does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status, periodic reviews of compensation arrangements, partnerships, joint ventures, and arrangements of management organizations are conducted to ensure all transactions are reasonable and there is no impermissible private benefit.”

“The Executive Director's compensation is derived by reviewing compensation of other individuals with similar positions within associations and nonprofit organizations of a similar size, scope, and purpose. In addition, compensation is compared against state averages of individuals with similar educational background and length of experience. The compensation of other organization officers is based on the market value for individuals with similar roles within like organizations.”

“Maine Quality Counts makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“Part of the focus of NNE -PTN during FY17 opioid overdose response via the implementation of a Community Opioid Overdose Response (COOR) ECHO initiative, with the goal of decreasing drug overdose deaths by promoting collaboration across sectors, sharing learning, and the development of key strategies designed to reduce opioid overdose deaths in target states and communities. We are collaborating with over 100 faculty and community leaders reaching 500,000 Maine people in 12 communities on this initiative. Key achievements include: -Worked with 2,035 primary and specialty providers reaching 390,154 patients, across Northern New England; -Facilitated cost savings to payers of $107,982,223 since the start of the initiative; -Launched the NNE-PTN Community Opioid Overdose Response (COOR) ECHO - which provides 12 Maine communities with the opportunity to focus on the goal of decreasing drug overdose deaths by promoting collaboration across sectors, sharing learning and implement key strategies that have been proved to reduce opioid overdose deaths in other states and communities. -2 high performing practices enrolled in NNE-PTN were recognized at TCPI's National Expert Panel Event in August 2018 for their work in their practices that have contributed to the 7 AIMS of the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative. -Graduated 46 practices to Alternative Payment Models since the start of the initiative. CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT/CHOOSING WISELY During MQC's final year of a three-year grant, we continued to work with a variety of partners to build a culture of consumer engagement and informed health care decision making, specifically in two target communities. Collaborating with key stakeholders in both regions, the initiative guided implementation of a range of innovative, person-centered, and community-based interventions. People were engaged at their points of health care (32 practice sites participated), where they live and work, and at a variety of other key locations. The goal was to reduce unnecessary care in three areas that were identified as high priority, and to cultivate a greater overall awareness of the potential impact of "Choosing Wisely". -The initiative directly reached over 100,650 health care providers and consumers in the last year with messages focused on three key topics-appropriate use of: 1) antibiotics for acute bronchitis, 2) benzodiazepines in older adults, and 3) imaging for low back pain. -One of the Health systems received a mini-grant to hardwire Choosing Wisely prompts into their EHR to assist providers with evidence-based prescribing of antibiotics to further reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing. A separately funded project centered on the need for cost of care conversations during clinical visits. With the help of two health care systems (involving six primary care practices), MQC assessed the impact of "cost discussions" with patients, using the five key questions that serve as the cornerstone of Choosing Wisely. Those questions focus on: publicly reported information that can be integrated into clinical workflows; the effect of these provider-patient conversations on provider confidence; and provider/patient awareness around the use of comparative cost information when making diagnostic/treatment choices. The project identified barriers to integrating cost conversations in the practice workflow. Practice teams found it difficult to initiate cost conversations prior to the provider talking with the patient. It was determined that providers who engaged in cost discussions were more comfortable delaying interventions (when appropriate), discussing the use of lower cost alternatives, and suggesting assistance from financial counselors. PROJECT ECHO (MQC Replication Hub and NNE Network) Maine Quality Counts became a formal Project ECHO Replication Hub after entering into a partnership with the ECHO Institute in July 2017. This initiative, led by MQC and funded through HRSA's Rural Health Network Developme”

“-In partnership with Maine Health Access Foundation, MQC provided project management, quality improvement support, and technical assistance to ten grantee sites that are working to increase access to Medication Assisted Treatment. We planned for and hosted two learning sessions, along with monthly group technical assistance calls that involved both internal and external attendees. Those sessions included grantee update presentations, and didactical training on various technical assistance topics. -Finally, MQC hosted and facilitated three webinars on safe opioid prescribing with support from the Maine Independent Clinical Information Service (MICIS). CHRONIC DISEASE IMPROVEMENT COLLABORATIVE (CDIC) CDIC is a quality improvement-centered learning collaborative focused on supporting primary care practices through direct QI support and shared learning activities with other practices/content experts. The focus is on adopting changes and interventions that improve population health outcomes for patients living with hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM). MQC sought to provide practices with quality improvement support, along with access to best practices around primary care transformation (including tools, resources, and examples from around the region/country), and to promote collaborative learning across all practices. Between August 2017 and June 2018, Maine Quality Counts (QC) provided quality improvement (QI) support to thirteen primary care practices: -Central Maine Health Care -Spruce Mountain - Livermore Falls (Practice closed in April 2018) -Family Residency Program - Lewiston -Health Reach Community Health Centers -Belgrade Regional Health Center -Bethel Family Health Center -Bingham Area Health Center -Lovejoy (Albion) Health Center -Madison Area Health Center -Mt. Abram Regional Health Center -Rangeley Family Medicine -Richmond Area Health Center -Sheepscot Valley (Coopers Mills) Health Center -Strong Area Health Center -Western Maine- Livermore Falls Family Health Center To guide the CDIC Learning Collaborative, QC utilized the Breakthrough Series - a model developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to achieve breakthrough improvements in quality. The series served as a foundation for helping practices learn from one another and from experts in topic areas, specifically in areas where they want to make improvements. Practices were empowered to develop and implement interventions that are focused on improving blood pressure and diabetes control, implementing a tiered team-based approach to chronic disease management while enhancing patient care and the patient experience. CDIC 4 learning activities included: motivational interviewing training, four webinars, one learning session (w/report-outs), and four practice-based self-studies. COLLABORATIVE ADHD LEARNING IN MAINE (CALM) MQC ran a year-long learning collaborative with seven sites to improve ADHD care in Maine (as part of a national project) with five sites being managed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The project included data collecting, quality improvement coaching, and the execution of two learning sessions and six virtual sessions. FROM THE FIRST TOOTH (FTFT) MQC provided quality improvement coaching for participating practices, along with two webinars focused on improving oral health for children, under a contract with the FTFT Association. PERINATAL QUALITY COLLABORATIVE (PQC4ME) Maine is one of only five states without a perinatal quality collaborative. MQC was asked to host a Perinatal Quality Collaborative as part of our previous and current child health work, which helped identify us as a statewide leader in this space. We established planning and steering committees that are comprised of approximately 25 individuals, then developed a timeline and structure for the planning year. MQC received funding for this effort from the Maine Health Access Foundation and the Bingham Foundation, both in the form of grants.”

“Consultants and Contractors: Program service expenses 3,455,547. Management and general expenses 106,873. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 3,562,420.”

“The audit process has not changed from the prior year.”