Cystic Fibrosis Center receives Quality Care Award for commitment to improve quality of care in CF patients

The Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital has been selected by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) for the foundation's prestigious Quality Care Award for 2012-2013.

Instituted in 2008, CFF's Quality Care Awards recognize centers that have continuously demonstrated a commitment to improving the quality of care they provide to people with cystic fibrosis (CF). According to the CFF, the Cystic Fibrosis Center and the five other honorees excelled at meeting the following quality improvement performance standards:
· Actively using clinical outcomes data to identify opportunities for improvement and documenting results of improvement efforts.
· Aligning improvement efforts to result in measureable improvement in important clinical outcomes.
· Consistently and actively involving patients and families in identifying, designing and/or implementing improvement efforts.
· Employing innovative strategies to improve care processes and outcomes.
· Implementing system changes that result in high reliability of care process.

"Over the years, we have had the privilege of helping many families and patients successfully cope with the challenges presented by CF," says Dr. Thomas F. Scanlin, professor of pediatrics, chief of the division of pediatric pulmonology and cystic fibrosis, and director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

The Cystic Fibrosis Center has been consistently ranked among the best programs in the nation for lung function and nutrition status in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). It is one of only three level III CF centers in the state that is accredited by the CF Foundation. The center's Adult CF Program, accredited by the foundation in 2007, is one of only 96 accredited programs nationwide serving adults with CF.

"Our center works continually to improve the quality of care we provide and the satisfaction of our patients, all within a multidisciplinary, patient-centered framework that helps patients and families get more engaged in their healthcare and work together to resolve barriers to treatment. We are honored the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has recognized us for these efforts and are committed to even further advancements in care, teaching, and research in CF," Dr. Scanlin says.

CFF's Quality Care Award was presented in conjunction with the 27th annual American Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Salt Lake City in November.