FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2009
LRGH Selected for National Quality Program
Promotes Safe Care Transitions for Seniors
LACONIA & FRANKLIN, NH - Lakes Region General Hospital announced today that the facility has been selected as one of The Society of Hospital Medicine’s Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions) sites. LRGH is among just 30 sites across the nation in this honor, and is the only site in New Hampshire.
The Society for Hospital Medicine (SHM) created the Project BOOST program to improve seniors’ care transitions from the hospital to home. By improving communication among healthcare providers, and building a team approach to designing and implementing individualized discharge plans for each patient, the program reduces preventable complications and re-hospitalizations of patients.
“We are very excited to have been selected to participate in this program,” said LRGHealthcare Chief of Staff Dr. Peter Walkley. “LRGHealthcare prides itself on being a leader in efforts to enhance medical quality and safety, and this program is one more important step forward in those efforts. We have implemented and developed an exceptional hospitalist program, enhancing quality and continuity of care for our hospital inpatients. Our hospitalists have always worked closely with patients’ providers to transition their care back to those doctors as patients leave the hospital, but through Project BOOST, we can further enhance the continuity of seniors’ care when they leave our facility to return home. We are honored that SHM chose LRGH to implement this program.”
Project BOOST is supported by a $1.4 million grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation. 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.
The following 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
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Queens Medical Center – Honolulu, Hawaii
- Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
- Piedmont Hospital – Atlanta, Georgia
- University of New Mexico Health Science Center School of Medicine
- ThedaCare: Appleton Medical Center, Appleton, WI; & ThedaClark Medical Center, Neenah WI
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.
LRGHealthcare is a not-for-profit healthcare charitable trust representing Lakes Region General Hospital, Franklin Regional Hospital, Affiliated Medical Providers, HealthLink, Community Wellness Centers, the Dental Resource Center, the Holistic Health Center, and other community-based services. LRGHealthcare is committed to making health care available, accessible, and affordable to you.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of Public Relations & Marketing
80 Highland Street
Laconia, NH 03246
Phone (603) 737-1041
Fax (603) 737-1027
