News

Saturday, May 19th is World IBD Day - a day set aside for raising awareness about Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (together known and Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD).  These chronic illnesses affect millions of people worldwide and currently there is no cure.  In the United States kids with Crohn’s and colitis have a better chance at remission.

Recognizing the importance of the work of ImproveCareNow and the C3N Project, the Wall Street Journal has published a major article today, in print and online, describing innovative approaches developed by the C3N Project for patients and families in the ImproveCareNow Network.

When physicians work together it can accelerate improvements in quality of care.  That’s the lesson from a new study by ImproveCareNow, a national quality improvement and research network. The study, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is now available online and is scheduled to appear in their printed journal in April 2012.

CIRCLE is a new eNewsletter that is being published by ImproveCareNow - an established network of pediatric gastroenterology care centers dedicated to improving care and outcomes of kids with Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis.  

The patient voice is one to be heard. In 2011, the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) for theImproveCareNow Network was established to provide valuable input and act as an advocate, as well as serve as a resource and co-designer for the Collaborative Chronic Care Network (C3N).

ImproveCareNow is wrapping up a week-long media campaign, delivered in partnership with the C3N│Collaborative Chronic Care Network. Our campaign aimed to engage our supporters to share their voices and stories; to help expand our circle and raise awareness about Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis during the first annual Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week (December 1 – 7). 

ImproveCareNow is pleased and proud to introduce an excellent new self-management resource for young patients and their families who are living with Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis (Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD). Living Well with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Self-Management Handbook for Patients & Families with IBD, or “the Handbook”, is a comprehensive resource for patients and families who are learning about these conditions.  

ImproveCareNow is a quality improvement project that focuses on measuring and improving the care we provide for our patients with IBD.  Since we joined ImproveCareNow in October 2007, we have enrolled 184 patients at UNC and have recorded over 400 visits to our clinic.  These patients, including your child, are included in an online database which stores information on more than 2000 pediatric IBD patients around the country.  At each visit, we record the patient’s height, weight, medication use, and related lab values to be stored in the database.  We also take note of nutritional status, disease status, and growth. 

ImproveCareNow is pleased to report that a recently completed survey shows that the 29 participating sites of ImproveCareNow have approximately 270 physicians and nearly 10,000 patients. The Advanced Track teams, which began the collaborative in 2007, have about 3,000 patients and currently 2,200 (71%) of them are enrolled.  The Foundations Track Teams, began in 2008, and have about 7,000 patients and are just beginning to enroll them.  

The Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado, which made Honor Roll as one of the nation’s ten best pediatric hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 edition of America's Best Children’s Hospitals, joins Improve Care Now. By joining Improve Care Now, The Children's Hospital participates in the nationwide collaboration of medical care facilities dedicated to helping children and adolescents with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease get better.