UMass Memorial Cuts CLABSI Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center among the first-ever awardees in the National Awards Program to Recognize Progress in Eliminating Healthcare-Associated Infections CDC: Hospitals continue progress in preventing infections American Heart Association: Improvements in Door-to-Balloon Time in the US - 2005 to 2010 Thomson Reuters Top 10 Health Systems of 2011 UMass Memorial Diabetes Scorecard Cooley Dickinson Hospital: Better-than-National Infection Rate Drops Further Following UV Room Disinfection Mercy Medical Center, Implements a Program to Decrease Pressure Ulcers Lawrence General Hospital: Runner Up: Med/surg unit boosts safety and satisfaction with initiative care MetroWest Medical Center Demystifies Outpatient Satisfaction Partners Study on Falls Featured in JAMA Winchester Hospital: A Focus on Outcomes Southcoast Health System: Reducing the Use of Safety Sitters Partners: Coordinating Care for High-Risk Patients New Bedford Rehab's use of volumetric capnography Winchester Hospital -- Reducing IV-associated bloodstream infection Newton-Wellesley Hospital: eMAP Rx for Medication Errors? Reducing Surgical Site Infections at New England Baptist Hospital Milton Hospital Reduces Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections Cooley Dickinson Hospital's Positive Culture Led to Pressure Ulcer Improvements Beverly Hospital Implements Nurse-Led Program to Reduce Patient Falls Boston Medical Center Nurses Teach Pressure Ulcer Prevention Two Hospitals are Co-Winners of Betsy Lehman Patient Safety Award Making Strides at Jordan Hospital to Reduce Falls Telling Your Hospital's Story Public Reporting of Serious Reportable Events Winchester Hospital's Hand-Hygiene Competency Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Wins $4.9 Million Grant for Program to Improve Patient Outcomes Within 30-Day Window of Discharge

Page header will display here

A multi-state project involving 53 hospitals, STAAR was launched by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in May 2009 with grant funding from The Commonwealth Fund. 22 Massachusetts hospitals are enrolled in the initiative.  To date, participating hospitals have formed cross-continuum teams and submitted baseline 30-day readmission rates. Now they are busy determining how to improve the patient's transition from hospital to post-acute setting.
 
Six take-aways from the work to date include: 

  • Focus on All Readmissions - Not Just Heart Failure Readmits
  • Form a Cross-Continuum Team
  • Start Measuring your all-Cause 30-Day Readmission Rate
  • Determine Your Baseline, Then Track Over Time
  • Focus First on Improving Current Processes
  • Stimulate the Financial Impact of Reducing Readmissions

The Massachusetts hospitals enrolled in the STAAR initiative include:

  • Baystate Franklin Medical Center
  • Baystate Medical Center
  • Baystate Mary Lane Hospital
  • Berkshire Medical Center
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Beth Israel Deaconess - Milton Hospital
  • Brigham & Women's Hospital
  • Cambridge Health Alliance
  • Cape Cod Hospital
  • Carney Hospital
  • Cooley Dickinson Hospital
  • Emerson Hospital
  • Fairview Hospital
  • Falmouth Hospital
  • Faulkner Hospital
  • Good Samaritan Medical Center
  • Hallmark Health Systems
  • Harrington Hospital
  • Heywood Hospital
  • Holy Family Hospital & Medical Center
  • Holyoke Medical Center
  • Jordan Hospital
  • Lahey Clinic
  • Lawrence General Hospital
  • Lowell General Hospital
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Mercy Medical Center
  • Merrimack Valley Hospital
  • MetroWest Medical Center
  • Milford Regional Medical Center
  • Morton Hospital & Medical Center
  • Mount Auburn Hospital
  • New England Baptist Hospital
  • Newton Wellesley Hospital
  • Noble Hospital
  • Northeast Health System
  • Norwood Hospital
  • Saint Anne's Hospital
  • Saint Elizabeth's Hospital
  • Saint Vincent's Hospital
  • Saints Medical Center
  • South Shore Hospital
  • Spaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care Cambridge
  • Spaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care North Shore
  • Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston
  • Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod
  • Sturdy Memorial Hospital
  • Tufts Medical Center
  • UMass Memorial Medical Center
  • VA Boston
  • Winchester Hospital
  • Wing Memorial Hospital & Medical Center

 

Reining in Avoidable Readmissions

Hospitals and Health Networks, Feb 2011 issue
The Affordable Care Act sets penalties for hospitals with higher-than-average rates of avoidable readmissions. Here's a primer on the problem and tools to help tackle it.
(Note: As part of the STAAR initiative, hospitals in four states, including Massachusetts, began using a worksheet in January to track their five most recent rehospitalizations.)