Project Outline: System Wide Multidisciplinary Mortality Improvement Initiative & End‑of‑Life Care Index (EOLCI) Launch

Served as an active participant and contributing leader in a System Multidisciplinary Group focused on improving mortality outcomes across OSF HealthCare through earlier identification of high‑risk patients, alignment of care with patient goals, and standardization of advance care planning and serious illness conversations. This work resulted in the ministry‑wide launch of the End‑of‑Life Care Index (EOLCI) and supporting workflows, which are now live across all OSF Hospitals, Medical Group practices, Emergency Departments, Home Care, Hospice, and OnCall services.

My Role & Contributions

• Supported the enterprise deployment of the EOLCI, an Epic‑integrated analytic model that:

  • Calculates one‑year mortality risk using 46 data inputs

  • Stratifies patients into low, medium, and high‑risk categories

  • Identifies patients who would benefit from earlier goals‑of‑care and advance care planning conversations

• Ensured the tool was implemented consistently across:

  • Hospitals

  • Emergency Departments

  • OSF Medical Group

  • Home Care & Hospice

  • OnCall and outpatient services

• Supported development and deployment of ministry‑wide Serious Illness Conversation (SIC) workflows

• Embedded EOLCI‑driven Best Practice Alerts to prompt providers at the right time

• Promoted consistent documentation and visibility of:

  • Goals of care

  • Code status

  • Advance directives

  • POLST (when indicated)

Governance & Multidisciplinary Collaboration

The initiative was sponsored and governed at the executive and service‑line level, with participation from:

• Hospital & Emergency Department Service Line leaders

• Chief Medical Officers (CMOs)

• Chief Medical Information Officer

• Chief Nursing Information Officer

• Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs)

• Quality & Safety

• Supportive Care and Advance Care Planning leaders

• Quality, Safety, Analytics, and Informatics partners

This structure ensured clinical alignment, executive engagement, and operational readiness across the ministry.

1. End‑of‑Life Care Index (EOLCI) Launch

2. Standardization of Serious Illness Conversations (SIC)

3. Advance Care Planning (ACP) Across the Continuum

• Helped align ACP processes across ambulatory, inpatient, ED, and post‑acute settings

• Supported integration of ACP tools into Epic, including:

  • ACP Navigator

  • Cross‑continuum visibility of documents and code status

• Reinforced early and proactive ACP to:

  • Reduce unwanted or non‑beneficial interventions

  • Improve patient and family experience

  • Align care with patient values and preferences

Outcomes & Impact

• Ministry‑wide adoption of a standardized mortality risk identification tool

• Earlier identification of high‑risk patients for supportive, palliative, and hospice care

• Improved alignment of care delivery with patient goals, reducing variability at end of life

• Enhanced data visibility and accountability for mortality‑related quality metrics

• Strengthened collaboration between clinical leaders, quality & safety, and executive leadership

• Positioned OSF HealthCare to measure and improve:

  • Mortality outcomes

  • Patient experience

  • Appropriate utilization at end of life

Strategic Significance

This work directly supported OSF HealthCare’s Clinical Excellence strategy by integrating mortality improvement, harm avoidance, and patient‑centered care into daily clinical practice. The successful launch of the End‑of‑Life Care Index represents a foundational capability for ongoing mortality reduction, improved quality outcomes, and compassionate, mission‑driven care across the entire OSF continuum.

As a member of the Ministry Multidisciplinary Group, I:

• Actively participated in strategy development and decision‑making related to mortality improvement and end‑of‑life care

• Contributed a quality and safety perspective to ensure interventions aligned with OSF’s Clinical Excellence Strategy and harm‑avoidance goals

• Partnered with clinical and operational leaders to design, refine, and support standardized workflows across care settings

• Supported change management, ensuring workflows were practical, measurable, and scalable across diverse sites

• Collaborated with clinical leaders to align mortality improvement efforts with patient‑centered care, ethical standards, and OSF mission values

Key Interventions & Deliverables