Healthcare Workforce Partnership About PV-IPEC
The establishment of Pioneer Valley Interprofessional Practice and Education Collaborative (PV-IPEC) by the Cooperating Colleges of Greater Springfield, in 2013, is influenced by the increasing importance of health professionals in all settings and of all specialties to practice as a team, and is informed by the Joint Commission Standards and Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC). In recognition of the strength of collaboration amongst health programs and across institutions, PV-IPEC utilizes a centralized and impartial organization, focused on workforce development, to coordinate and manage financial investments and the collective efforts of faculty, deans, simulation specialists, and other healthcare professionals from numerous academic and health systems.
The mission of PV-IPEC is to lead, develop and facilitate interprofessional healthcare education and practice amongst members of all health professions. We undertake this mission through the diversity of programs and disciplines that constitutes the healthcare institutions in the Pioneer Valley. Together, the collaborative works to improve the quality of the services provided and the overall health of the community through purposeful communication amongst current and future health care disciplines.
Ongoing development and expansion of PV-IPEC is directed by the “Guidance on Developing Quality Interprofessional Education for Health Professions” prepared and disseminated by the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative, and many Joint Commission Standards, that identify the positive impact and influence of interdisciplinary practice on patient safety and quality. The endorsing organizations of HPAC and TJC also represent the accrediting organizations of academic programs and healthcare facilities that constitute PV-IPEC.
PV-IPEC responds to guidance from HPAC and TJC by establishing workgroups to manage the implementation and evaluation of activities that lead a variety of disciplines to learn about, from and with each other at the foundational through graduate level and into practice. Additionally, through the alignment of programmatic resources, academic calendars and IPE courses, PV-IPEC exemplifies collaboration and coordination. Academic institutions and health system and community partners are required to implement a longitudinal, sequenced series of classroom, extracurricular, and clinical IPE leaning activities and best practice guidelines as recommended by HPAC in the report, Guidance on Developing Quality Interprofessional Education for Health Professions and TJC.
The Joint Commission. (2021). Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals.
Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative. (2019). Guidance on Developing Quality Interprofessional Education for Health Professions. Chicago, IL: Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative.
PV-IPEC Monthly Blog
Beyond Medicine: A Deeper Dive into Health Disparities and Social Determinants of Health
Awards
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy – Excellence in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Award – 2021
National Organizations
- The Joint Commission, a global driver of quality improvement and patient safety in healthcare.
- Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Connecting health professions for better care
- Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) The Collaborative was formed to enhance accreditors’ ability to ensure graduates of health profession education programs are prepared for interprofessional collaborative practice. Guidance on Developing Quality Interprofessional Education for the Health Professions
REB - REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT BOARD OF HAMPDEN COUNTRY, INC.
