Emerson Hospital has announced a two-year program to reduce readmissions of its hospital patients following a $1.2 million investment from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.
Operating an office in Westford at the intersection of Littleton and Nixon roads, as well as elsewhere in the area, Emerson was awarded the funding as part of a CHART (Community Hospital Acceleration, Revitalization and Transformation) Investment.
“We are proud to have been selected by the State to receive a CHART investment,” said Christine Schuster, president and CEO at Emerson Hospital. “Our focus has always been on providing high-quality, compassionate care to all members of the community. CHART enables us to provide special focus on patients who are high-risk, and give them the information and tools they need to live healthy and prevent future hospital stays.”
Patients can be readmitted to a hospital for many reasons, the more common ones include: medication discrepancies, delays in post hospitalization care and gaps in planning for transitions of care. Emerson’s readmission rate is historically, and continues to be, below Massachusetts’ state average. However the hospital recognizes that improvements can always be made to enhance patient care and further reduce readmission rates.
“At Emerson we always strive to provide exceptional care to patients,” said Dr. Gregory Martin, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs at Emerson Hospital. “Our aim with the CHART program is to improve care transitions – the communication and care a patient receives when they leave Emerson. With the additional services supported by the CHART investment we are able to improve the discharge process and ensure better care to our high-risk patients after discharge. This will significantly reduce repeat hospitalizations.”
The goal of Emerson’s CHART program is to reduce 30-day readmissions among high-risk patients by 20% by October 2017.
