Carroll Hospital Center Uses AHRQ Resources to Help Improve Patient Care and Recovery

Patient Safety

2014

Carroll Hospital Center, a 193-bed community hospital in Westminster, Maryland, uses strategies from the AHRQ resource, RED (Re-Engineered Discharge), to help newly discharged patients follow their treatment plans and improve their health in order to avoid readmission.

RED, a toolkit originally developed by AHRQ-funded patient safety researchers in Boston, provides evidence-based tools to help hospitals improve their patient discharge process.

The hospital adopted the RED strategy of making a follow-up phone call to each patient within 48 hours after they leave the hospital. The hospital also assigns registered nurses who serve as care navigators and care transition coaches to make home visits to patients who need additional support during their recovery.

Stephanie Reid, R.N., B.S.N., M.B.A, M.H.A., is Carroll Hospital Center's vice president of quality and its chief nursing officer. She explains, "Discharge planning actually starts with our nurses communicating with patients and teaching them what to do after they leave. Our pharmacists also meet with patients to help them understand how to take their medications and to answer any questions they may have. Additionally, we provide printed materials to help patients."

Helping patients to follow their medical instructions correctly during recovery reduces the likelihood of a hospital readmission. Ms. Reid says that early results after implementing RED show about a 5 percent decline in readmissions.

The hospital also uses the "Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems" (HCAHPS®) survey to get patients' feedback on ways to improve communication and overall delivery of care. HCAHPS was developed through a partnership with AHRQ and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Since 2011, Carroll Hospital Center has conducted the HCAHPS survey to measure the perceptions of recently discharged patients on hospital care topics such as nurse communication, responsiveness of staff, cleanliness, and pain control.

"We fully realize that in order for our hospital to excel, we must focus on providing the best in patient-centered care. HCAHPS has been incredibly helpful for identifying ways we can enhance the patient experience, such as expanding visitation hours, conducting hourly patient rounds, and including family members when discussing the patient's bedside report during nurse shift changes," Ms. Reid notes.

She emphasizes the importance of nursing communication. "It's an integral part of our success and is a huge driver for the HCAHPS ratings that our patients give us."

Carroll Hospital Center was recognized for superior nursing communication in 2013, having received the highest HCAHPS rating among all Maryland hospitals. It was also ranked within the top 25 percent of HCAHPS survey ratings nationwide.

"The entire team must focus on ways to continually advance patient-centered care," Ms. Reid says. "All of us, from the medical staff to the dietary and environmental teams, contribute toward each patient's perception of the care and concern they receive from us."

Ms. Reid notes that the hospital regularly sponsors "HCAHPS Fun Fest" events and forums among employees to reinforce the importance of patient-centered care. Carroll Hospital also produced a two-minute video entitled "I Am the Patient Experience."

Read more about HCAHPS at: http://www.hcahpsonline.org/home.aspx

Impact Case Study Identifier: 2014-10
AHRQ Product(s): HCAHPS, Project RED (Re-Engineered Discharge)
Topic(s): Hospital Discharge, Patient Experience, Patient Safety
Geographic Location: Maryland

Search Impact Case Studies

Greenwald JL, Denham CR, Jack BW. The hospital discharge: a review of a high risk care transition with highlights of a reengineered discharge process. J Patient Saf 2007;3(2):97-106

Current as of August 2014

Internet Citation: Carroll Hospital Center Uses AHRQ Resources to Help Improve Patient Care and Recovery. August 2014. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/policymakers/case-studies/201410.html