About SLHQ

The Symposium for Leaders in Healthcare Quality (SLHQ) is a community of quality and patient safety professionals whose work is focused on performance improvement in support of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) aims of providing care that is safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and patient centered. SLHQ identifies and disseminates best practices and resources for improvement, provides education and experiential learning opportunities and promotes collaboration in order to transform health care. As a forum of the American Hospital Association (AHA), our staff have extensive experience leading national performance improvement initiatives and maintain close relationships with quality improvement professionals in the health care field.

Because health care is changing rapidly, organizations must develop a strong foundation in performance improvement to continue to deliver high quality care. Provider organizations across the continuum of care face both competitive and regulatory pressures to improve more quickly than ever before and need support to remain fluid in this often chaotic environment. SLHQ provides leaders and practitioners with unparalleled access to resources, education and professional development opportunities to drive improvement.

Mission

The Symposium for Leaders in Healthcare Quality is a community of health care professionals whose work is focused on performance improvement in support of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) aims of providing care that is safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and patient centered.

Vision

A network of health care improvement leaders creating a society of healthy communities where all individuals reach their highest potential for health.

History

The AHA is committed to supporting hospitals improve quality and patient safety. This work is conducted primarily through HRET, the not-for-profit research and education affiliate of the AHA. HRET conducts applied research and national performance improvement projects to create new knowledge and tools, and to provide support for organizations to improve health care delivery.

Through initiatives such as the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP), TeamSTEPPS, the Hospital Engagement Network (HEN), the Ambulatory Surgery Center Safety Program (ASC) and many others, HRET works closely with state hospital associations, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency departments and long term care facilities. AHA recognizes that despite significant success in reducing patient harm, sustainability continues to be one of the toughest challenges for all engaged in improvement work.

SLHQ was created to address this challenge of sustainability through building a network of engaged leaders who can advance and strengthen the achievements of many seemingly disparate improvement projects. SLHQ leverages lessons learned across these many projects to build an infrastructure for current and future improvement projects that will enhance the capacity and ability for success and provides a space for professionals to learn and connect with one another in pursuit of a common goal.