Participation Details

Participants

This QI collaborative provides an opportunity for ED-based teams to collaborate with other diverse teams across the country to improve clinical care processes for children and adolescents who present to the ED with acute suicidality. Each team includes two or more ED professionals. Participants have access to evidenced-based best practices, collaborative sessions, quality improvement strategies, resources, coaching and presentations by pediatric mental health experts, and networking opportunities to improve the care of children and adolescents in their community – at no cost. Continuing education credits are offered.

Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) State Partnership program representatives and select Pediatric Mental Health Care Access representatives are participating in the collaborative to learn, support, and help identify resources to guide local and regional efforts.

Structure

The initial phase of the collaborative consists of monthly, 90-minute deep-dive sessions that focus on QI strategies and evidence-based clinical considerations (suicide screening, mental health assessment, ED-based interventions, and discharge/safety planning). By collaborative session #3, teams move into a mobilization phase where they are grouped by ED configuration, annual pediatric ED volume, and geography to participate in smaller breakout sessions to present on QI project work progress.

Teams regularly attend these sessions to exchange ideas, challenges, and successes. Teams have opportunities for coaching, support, and fireside chats with experts.

Quality Improvement Project

After performing a brief needs assessment, teams will design and implement a basic QI project focused on one or more specific components of the care process: suicide screening, mental health assessment, ED-based interventions, and discharge/safety planning. Collaboration with Pediatric Mental Health Care Access grantees later in the collaboration will facilitate opportunities for telemedicine and leveraging regional resources. Resources are available, including intervention bundle guides on the topics mentioned above, to support teams in implementing clinical care change processes.

Once a team has identified an area of focus for its QI project or improvement process, the above-mentioned Intervention Bundle Guides will serve as a helpful resource along with fireside chats to guide improvements to the clinical care process.

Time Commitment

Participants should plan to attend a 90-minute virtual learning session each month. Sessions are recorded for participants who cannot make the live events. Participants can estimate one additional hour per week for meeting with their internal ED site team, selecting an improvement idea, testing the change, and reflecting on progress.

The total time commitment may range from 3 to 7 hours per month, depending on the time the ED site team members want to contribute to the improvement efforts.

Continuing Education Credits

Physicians: 25 points MOC part 4 credit is available if requirements are met (regular attendance at collaborative sessions/fireside chats; completion of a post session evaluations; collecting, analyzing, and reviewing data as well as designing and implementing PDSA cycles with the local site team as part of a quality improvement effort). Upon completion of the improvement project, an attestation form must be completed and submitted. These credits are approved through the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s portfolio with the American Board of Medical Specialties.

Nursing (select live sessions only): Pediatric Liaison Nurses Los Angeles County approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 15456, for 1 contact hour. Partial contact hours will not be awarded. Contact: Robin Goodman.

Social Workers and Other Professionals: Credit hours are approved for individual collaborative sessions and fireside chats. These hours are approved by the Office of Professional Development, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, at the University of Texas at Austin. Requirements include documented attendance at an approved event and completion of a session evaluation through a link provided during each approved event.