Southcentral Community Coalitions

09/25/2025

We are committed to increasing access to quality care designed to advance health equity in Central Texas. Later this month, we are proud to support the 2025 Texas State of Enrollment Conference, September 30th – October 1st.

This free and virtual conference brings together outreach and enrollment assisters for health coverage and benefits programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace, Healthy Texas Women, SNAP, WIC, TANF, and Medicare Savings Programs to share best practices, improve the effectiveness of Texas enrollment networks, and celebrate the incredible efforts that assisters do across the state.

📅 Learn more and register here: bit.ly/tsoe2025

09/25/2025

We are proud to announce partnerships with , Arrow ARC LLC, the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality () and .

These strategic partnerships will contribute to the expansion of quality improvement initiatives, including advancing education, supporting strategic workforce planning, improving digital health capabilities and technical assistance for Medicare providers. For more information on these initiatives, visit https://tmf.org/News-Resources/Press-Releases/TMF-Health-Quality-Institute-Announces-Partnerships-to-Expand-Quality-Improvement-Support

09/13/2025

The CDC's next Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) call will take place on Thursday, September 18, at 1 p.m. CT. During this COCA call, presenters will share current evidence demonstrating the increase in antifungal resistance among C. auris and C. parapsilosis and discuss recommendations for testing and treatment. For more information and the link to attend, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coca/hcp/trainings/drug-resisitant-candida.html

The Path of Yeast Resistance: Drug-resistant Candida on the Rise

09/08/2025

The Joint Commission recently revised its critical access hospital and hospital standards and elements of performance to reduce burden on accredited organizations. The revised requirements and Survey Process Guides, effective January 1, 2026, are available on the Joint Commission's Prepublication Standards webpage: https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards/prepublication-standards.

Although these revisions are substantial, no new concepts were introduced. Free, on-demand webinars addressing the requirements by chapter and providing resources to better understand the revisions will launch now through December 2025.

The following webinar addresses the National Performance Goals chapter: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6384807297174830427. This webinar is approved for (1) Continued Education credit until October 1, 2025.

08/14/2025

Since TMF’s creation more than 50 years ago, the Texas Medical Association and TMF have worked closely together, partnering on initiatives to assist physicians and improve health care for Texans.

TMF is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with TMA, and we appreciate TMA's coverage of the new, five-year federal Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization contract we received to help us continue working with physicians across our state and improving health care for Texans.

Visit https://www.texmed.org/TexasMedicineDetail.aspx?id=66461.

Chronic disease management, behavioral health, and patient safety are among the priorities of a renewed Medicare program led by TMF Health Quality Institute. Prospective participants chosen can receive access to consulting services and resources.

08/12/2025

The Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) has developed a quality improvement (QI) plan template that facilities can use to assist with performing root cause analysis and determining what appropriate interventions to implement and monitor.

Download the QI Plan Template PDF at https://southcentralqinqio.org/link?u=9f7f8b.

07/10/2025

Scams have been circulating in Arkansas and throughout the country that attempt to trick Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients into revealing personal information in order to gain access to their account.

Arkansans who receive benefits through SNAP are encouraged by the Arkansas Department of Human Services to take the necessary steps to secure their SNAP accounts, including:
- Setting up a unique pin that no one else knows
- Regularly checking accounts for unauthorized charges
- Watching for suspicious devices at card reading machines

To learn more, visit https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/news/dhs-encourages-snap-recipients-to-take-steps-to-keep-accounts-secure/

07/09/2025

When a facility agrees to work with the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) as a part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) program, they are matched with a quality improvement consultant that works directly with their staff.

Outpatient clinical practices that work with us receive free access to:
- One-on-one or group technical assistance
- Quality improvement webinars and online training
- Opportunities to network and share best practices
- Data dashboards and customized reports from CMS

To learn more, visit https://southcentralqinqio.org/.

07/02/2025

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) program takes a thoughtful, collaborative approach to quality improvement for Medicare beneficiaries.

Participating hospitals that work with the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) will be matched with a quality improvement consultant that works directly with their staff to provide free, individualized technical assistance.

To learn more, visit https://southcentralqinqio.org/.

06/25/2025

Long-term care facilities partnering with the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5) as a part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) program will work directly with a quality improvement consultant that meets the facility staff where they are with their quality improvement activities.
The consultant will help staff work toward achieving measurable change in areas such as reducing hospital readmissions, screening for depression, developing emergency preparedness plans and more.
Learn more at https://southcentralqinqio.org/

06/25/2025

TMF is excited to attend the 2025 CMS Quality Conference!

These team members will be in attendance:
Tom Manley, CEO
Russell Kohl, MD
Preetha Prithivathi
Wendy Medcalf
Tara Richardson

Learn more at https://www.cmsqualcon.com/

06/09/2025

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded TMF Health Quality Institute a contract to serve as a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO)!

Working as the Southcentral CMS QIN-QIO (Region 5), TMF will partner with nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals and outpatient clinical practices in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to implement lasting quality improvement solutions that enhance the care patients and residents receive.
To learn more, visit https://southcentralqinqio.org/.