SHM’s Project BOOST Expands Its Reach

(PHILADELPHIA – February 17, 2009) – The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) announced today the selection of 24 additional sites who will receive mentoring to implement Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions). 
Project BOOST is a comprehensive program to optimize care transitions from the hospital to home, thereby reducing preventable re-hospitalizations and complications while improving communication among health care providers. 
Supported by a $1.4 million grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation, Project BOOST utilizes a team approach to assess patients’ risk for re-hospitalization, and plans and executes risk-specific discharge planning activities. The project is led by a national advisory board of recognized leaders in hospital medicine, care transitions, payers and regulatory agencies. The board includes representatives from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), The Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

“Project BOOST is an excellent resource for any hospital looking to improve the quality of the discharge process and reduce preventable and costly post-discharge complications and readmissions,” said Allan Korn, MD, FACP, member of the BOOST Advisory Board, and Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield. “Coordinating such efforts with Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan Care Managers will further enhance the safety and patient-centeredness of care.”

Jennifer Fells, RN, MSN, Project Leader from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, one of the six Project BOOST pilot sites, commented on the initiative, “BOOST helped us get organized by providing a framework to address readmissions. The BOOST toolkit has proved invaluable and the mentors have helped us keep on track by offering guidance and support.”

The following 24 sites have been selected to be a part of Project BOOST:

• Lakes Region General Hospital, Laconia, NH
• Huntington Hospital, Huntington, NY
• Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA
• UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, MA
• Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, CT
• Cooper Health, Camden, NJ
• Mission Hospital, Asheville, NC
• Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
• Morton Plant Hospital, Clearwater, FL
• Emory Crawford Long Hospital, Atlanta, GA
• Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, GA
• Baptist Hospital, Nashville, TN
• Chesapeake Hospitalists, P.C., Chesapeake, VA
• Kaiser Permanente Hospital West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
• California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
• University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
• Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
• SSM St. Mary’s Health Center, St. Louis, MO
• Aurora Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
• Billings Clinic, Billings, MT
• Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD
• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
• University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
• University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, KS

Each participating site will participate in a 2 day training session and receive a year of mentoring from Project BOOST investigators in addition to the BOOST toolkit and evaluation tools, courtesy of the John A Hartford Foundation and SHM. 
 
For more information on Project BOOST, or to download the BOOST toolkit, visit SHM’s BOOST Resource Room at www.hospitalmedicine.org/BOOST or email boost@hospitalmedicine.org.
SHM is the premier medical society representing hospitalists. Over the past decade, studies have shown that hospitalists decrease patient lengths of stay, reduce hospital costs and readmission rates, all while increasing patient satisfaction. Hospital medicine is the fastest-growing specialty in modern healthcare, with over 28,000 hospitalists currently practicing and an upward growth trajectory in full force. For more information about SHM, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org.

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