NEWS RELEASE
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Continues Longtime Investment in Safety & Quality of Healthcare
Meghan O'Brien
| 4 min read
DETROIT, June 25, 2026—Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is continuing its longstanding funding relationship with the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) Keystone Center with a $1 million contribution that will directly support the MHA Keystone Center’s focus on improving the physical and psychological safety of patients and healthcare professionals.
In particular, the funding will allow the MHA Keystone Center to continue the following initiatives:
- Improving maternal health safety, including the MHA Keystone Center’s participation in the Michigan Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (MI AIM) and assisting hospitals in adhering to Maternal Levels of Care Verification standards established by The Joint Commission.
- Offering various educational events, including the annual MHA Keystone Center Safety & Quality Symposium, as well as healthcare worker trainings on de-escalation, preventing musculoskeletal injuries and active shooter response.
- Strengthening caregiver engagement, training and support through continued refinement and dissemination of the MHA Keystone Center Caregiver Navigation Toolkit to hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers.
Since the launch of the MHA Keystone Center in 2003, participating hospitals have made significant strides in increasing safety and quality and have been recognized nationally for their work to improve care statewide. This newest investment from Blue Cross adds to the $21 million the organization has provided to the MHA Keystone Center since 2009.
Since its inception, MHA Keystone Center initiatives have saved more than 5,150 lives and provided more than $565 million in cost savings. Among the MHA Keystone Center’s most recent successes with increasing safety and quality, data shows Michigan hospitals participating in its workplace safety program realized a 20% reduction in all workforce harm from 2019-2024, representing a 38.5% reduction in workers’ injuries baseline costs. As for maternal health safety work, 89% of Michigan birthing hospitals are now participating in MI AIM, with participating hospitals contributing high rates of compliance with risk assessments that address pre- and post-partum obstetric hemorrhagic risk, quantitative blood loss and severe hypertension. Lastly, the MHA Keystone Center oversees Michigan’s work with Superior Health, a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization comprised of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, whose efforts from 2020-2025 have avoided 268,656 harms and a 20% improvement rate in hospital readmissions across the three states.
“We are proud to continue our investment in the MHA Keystone Center and the critical work they do with our state’s hospitals to ensure Michiganians receive quality care,” said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan President & CEO Tricia Keith.“Focusing on improving the physical and psychological safety of patients and healthcare workers not only helps save lives, but also results in significant cost savings that are critical for the affordability of healthcare.”
“Hospitals never waver from their commitment to always care for their patients,” said MHA CEO Brian Peters. “The MHA Keystone Center illustrates that commitment and the work of our state’s hospitals to always advance towards better health outcomes. The investments from BCBSM demonstrate that partnership is critical towards saving lives and making Michigan a healthier state.”
Healthcare providers practice more safely today because of the MHA Keystone Center’s work, including incorporating actions such as patient checklists, time-outs to assure protocols have been followed, increased precautions and sterile techniques for various procedures. Examples of past work that has led directly to improved quality and safety include the adoption of preprocedural safety huddles, the development of a medication disposal guide for patients and a guide for better pain management to avoid unnecessary opioid use.
The MHA Keystone Center will continue to participate closely with Blue Cross’ broad array of Collaborative Quality Initiatives – clinically driven work that addresses the cost and quality of common medical procedures and promotes best practices in patient care. Blue Cross’ efforts to promote value in healthcare delivery along with physicians and health systems have resulted in more than $6.3 billion in savings to date and have – along with the work of the MHA Keystone Center and its participating hospitals – resulted in Michigan gaining stature as one of the best and safest places in the nation to receive hospital-based care.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Blue Cross provides health benefits to more than 4.7 million members residing in Michigan in addition to employees of Michigan-headquartered companies residing outside the state. The company has been committed to delivering affordable health care products through a broad variety of plans for businesses, individuals and seniors for more than 80 years. Beyond health care coverage, Blue Cross supports impactful community initiatives and provides leadership in improving health care. For more information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBlueDaily.com.
Based in greater Lansing, the MHA advocates in Michigan and Washington, DC, to advance the health of individuals and communities. The MHA is a nationally recognized leader on initiatives that protect and promote quality, cost-effective and accessible healthcare. To learn more, visit http://www.mha.org.
Header photo pictured from left to right are MHA CMO Dr. Gary Roth, MHA CNO Amy Brown, Dr. James Grant, Tricia Keith, MHA CEO Brian Peters and MHA SVP Sam Watson.
