Registration is Now Open
The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 11, 2021. Please join us as we share updates on the exciting initiatives within VCSQI.
AGENDA
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. |
Board of Directors Meeting |
Quarterly Meeting Agenda |
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5:30 – 5:45 p.m. |
Welcome and Highlights from the Board Robert Shor, MD, FACC, Virginia Heart |
Committee Updates
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5:45 – 6:30 p.m. |
CathPCI Reports and Quality Initiative Progress Eddie Fonner, VCSQI Executive Director |
New Initiative – Perfect Care Collaboration Kevin Lobdell, MD, Perfect Care |
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Machine Learning: Predicting Success in the Quality World Gyula Sziraczky, President, ARMUS Corporation |
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6:30 – 7:00 p.m. |
Obesity as a Pharmacokinetic Factor in Response to Amiodarone Chris Systma, RN, MSN, Winchester Medical Center |
7:00 – 7:30 p.m. |
Long-Term Ramifications of COVID-19 on the Cardiac Population Group Discussion |

In the News…STS News
On January, 31, 2021, Alan Speir, MD was honored for his remarkable contributions to Cardiothoracic Surgery Advocacy.
Dr. Speir has been a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) since 1987 and has served the organization in many capacities. He was recognized at the 2021 STS Annual Meeting with a Distinguished Service Award for his years of advocacy for thoracic surgeons in health care policy and legislative issues.
Please take a moment to congratulate Dr. Speir for this national accolade and all that he has contributed to VCSQI.
Committee Updates
Research & Writing Committee
The committee currently has 4 projects underway, including VCSQI’s first abstract in development using data from CathPCI.
Congratulations to Dr. Greg Dehmer (Carilion) who submitted a proposal to evaluate the reduction of AKI with radial access which was approved by the R&W Committee. The focus of the project is to determine if radial artery access for PCI reduces the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) over a wide range of predicted pre-procedure AKI risk in a real-world population.
Requests for proposals is now open. If you have a research topic you would like to present to the committee, please click here for the latest copy of the proposal submission form and process.
A special thank you to the following organization who have previously submitted proposals to the committee for review:
- UVA
- VCU
- Carilion
- Winchester
- Inova
Quality Committee
The Quality Committee participated in a training session with Sheila Fairless from ARMUS to learn tips and tricks in navigating the Hybrid Analytics software platform. The committee is exploring the possibility of adding additional metrics into the system to help drive quality improvements in patient care. If you have metrics you would like to submit for consideration, please complete this brief survey.
Perfusion Work Group
In collaboration with the VCSQI AKI Workgroup, an survey to assess AKI Practices amongst perfusionists has been distributed. Perfusion practices is important in assessing the occurrence and/or severity of CSA-AKI. With efforts to obtain a additional variables, members of the Maryland Cardiac Surgery Quality Initiative (MCSQI) Perfusion Workgroup have also been invited to participate. To date, 19 responses have been received.
We ask that each organization participate in completing this survey and workgroup to identify best practice for the new generation of perfusionists to come.
To participate in this survey, please click here.
The next meeting is scheduled for March 16, 2021. For your convenience, we are offering this meeting at two different times. Please select the registration link that best aligns with your schedule.
Registration Options:
Noon Session – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkd-2spz8iH9Md28newKKwSnII75V53lO2
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrfu6trzkvHNOmjjYOI4sCMLiqFMOWXjLA
AKI Workgroup
To better understand current AKI practices within your program, two separate surveys have been distributed to cardiology and surgery programs, respectively. If you have not yet already completed the survey, you may do so via the links below:
AKI Pre-Assessment – Cardiology
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AKICard
AKI Pre-Assessment – Surgery
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AKISurg
Shock Management Workgroup
On January 26, 2021, the VCSQI/VHAC Shock Management survey was distributed to over 38 Cath Lab Directors across Virginia. To date, 12 responses have been received. If your institution has not yet completed the survey, we ask that you work with you Cath Lab Directors to help provide feedback via the link below:
VCSQI/VHAC Shock Management Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCSQIVHAC
As always, we appreciate your support.
Enhanced Recovery Taskforce
In February 2020, Bethany Sarosick, RN, was announced as the Champion of the group. Bethany functions as the ERAS Coordinator for the University of Virginia and serves on the American Society for Enhanced Recovery’s Nurse/ERAS Coordinator Committee.
Dr. Kevin Lobdell will server as the Strategic Advisor for the group.
We are looking forward to the opportunities ahead.
VHAC Updates
The next VHAC Regional Meeting is scheduled for March 3, 2021 at 12:00 pm EST.
If you are interested in participating, you may join at the following link: https://heart.zoom.us/j/89135978445?pwd=ZWl5NEVsWlBVVy9YZHhUZ1FIVWNkQT09
Meeting ID: 891 3597 8445 Passcode: 546154
Additional information on VHAC can be found via https://www.virginiaheartattackcoalition.org.
ACTIVE SURVEYS
AKI Workgroup: Perfusion Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AKIPerf
AKI Pre-Assessment – Cardiology
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AKICard
AKI Pre-Assessment – Surgery
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AKISurg
Cardiac Ramifications of Covid
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BMHKJ85
VCSQI/VHAC Shock Management Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCSQIVHAC
A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE VCSQI PERFUSION GROUP (VCSQI-PG) CHAMPION
I’m a perfusionist at UVA Health and the team leader for the VCSQI-perfusion group. Mike Brown, CCP, Program Manager, Chief Perfusionist, Mary Washington Hospital, has designed a very nice survey to assess current perfusion practices regarding cardiac surgery-associated AKI. After distributing the survey to VA members, we decided to collaborate with the MCSQI perfusion group on this survey tool. We’ve had an impressive response from the Maryland group.
I’m writing to ask for your help. We still do not have 100% participation of VCSQI members in the perfusion group, and we’re eager to reach that goal. If you know that your perfusion group has joined us, I would thank you to encourage them in all things 🙂 but specifically, to participate in our meetings and data collection efforts. If you aren’t sure if your group has joined, or know that they have not, but think it’s important that they represent your institution at the working group level, please consider connecting your perfusion chief to myself or Sherri.
As we continue to grow, the perfusion working group looks forward to participating fully in the VCSQI mission. Thanks for your time and assistance today.
Team Leader, VCSQI-PG
ATTENDING THE MARCH 11TH QUARTERLY MEETING?
REGISTER NOW!
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