Project BOOST is now accepting applications for the BOOST Mentoring Program!

Download your application now.

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The Project BOOST Mentoring Program

• Apply now to be selected to receive a year of mentoring and coaching from national experts to redesign your discharge process and improve patient safety and outcomes. Courtesy of the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Society of Hospital Medicine, there is no fee for participation in this incredible opportunity.  Selected sites will receive:
  • An invitation to participate in a two day training conference
  • The Project BOOST Toolkit
  • A year of mentoring provided via teleconferencing and e-mails to tailor the toolkit to the needs of your institution, implement it and evaluate its impact. 
  • Evaluation tools including run charts
  • Project management tools
  • Access to networking opportunities to share successes and challenges with peer sites
• Application Deadline: December 15, 2008. Rolling admissions apply.  
• Start Date: March 2009. 

More About Project BOOST

GOAL: 

The goal of Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions) is to improve the care of patients as they transition from the hospital to home.

OUTCOMES:

By improving discharge processes, Project BOOST aims to:

• Reduce 30 day readmission rate for general medicine patients (with particular focus on older adults)
• Improve facility patient satisfaction scores
• Improve facility HCAHPS scores
• Improve flow of information between sending and receiving physicians
• Ensure high-risk patients receive follow-up calls within 72 hours of discharge
• Improve patient and family education practices to encourage use of the teach-back process around risk-specific issues. 

APPROACH:

1. Create a national consensus for best practices. Project BOOST is advised by a board of recognized leaders in hospital medicine, care transitions, payers and regulatory agencies. The board is Chaired by Eric Coleman, MD and includes representatives from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); The Joint Commission; American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Geriatrics Society,  Case Management Society of America, Society of General Internal Medicine, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; National Consumers Leauge (SOS Rx), the Society of Hospital Medicine and others. 

2. Create resources to implement best practices. Project BOOST created a “toolkit” for quality improvement teams including:

• Clinical tools (discharge planning tools, risk stratification tools)
• Data collection tools
• Project Management Tools (guidance for gaining institutional support, creating and managing a team)
• Educational tools – background information for professionals new to quality improvement
• Review of key literature
• Success stories

View the BOOST Resource Room

3. Provide technical support & professional development.  Project BOOST currently offers several technical support options including:

• Year-long coaching/mentoring program (courtesy of grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation).
• Day long pre-course offered in conjunction with the SHM Annual Meeting.

Learn more about the Mentoring Program and Quality Precourse.

For more information, or to submit your completed application for the mentoring program, contact: boost@hospitalmedicine.org