Milford Regional Launches CHART Phase 2 of Investment Program to Improve Hospital Services
Milford Regional Medical Center has launched the second phase of its service improvement initiative, and over the next two years will focus on reducing the readmission rate.
Milford Regional is one of a select number of hospitals participating in the Community Hospital Acceleration, Revitalization and Transformation (CHART), the Health Policy Commission’s $120 million reinvestment program funded through an assessment on large health systems and commercial insurers established through the Commonwealth’s landmark cost containment law that was enacted in 2012.
With $1.3 million in program funding, Milford Regional will work to reduce 30-day readmissions by 25 percent . This work will be done over the next two years, and will focus on care for patients who disproportionately utilize inpatient hospital services. In addition, Phase 2 also supports regional collaborations and partnerships to address unmet needs and appropriate use of care.
“We are providing optimal services to patients and their families that go beyond the walls of Milford Regional,” says Nancy Tomaso, VP of Patient Care Services at Milford Regional and Clinical Investment Director for the CHART Grant. “We are improving our patients’ quality of life through phone calls and home visits by a multidisciplinary team that provides their primary care doctor with ongoing assessments of their needs and plan of care.”
Hospitals in the CHART program are non-profit, non-teaching and have relatively lower prices than many other hospitals. The goal of program is to promote care coordination, integration and delivery transformations; advance electronic health records adoption and information exchange among providers; increase alternative payment methods and accountable care organizations; enhance patient safety, access to behavioral health services and coordination between hospitals and community-based providers and organizations.
“Our partnership with community hospitals is a critical part of the Health Policy Commission’s efforts to achieve the Commonwealth’s cost containment and quality improvement goals,” says David Seltz, Executive Director of the Health Policy Commission. “CHART hospitals were issued a challenge: Propose initiatives that will put you on a path of transformation, while meeting critical health care needs of your community. Today, I’m pleased to report that Milford Regional met that challenge. We look forward to continuing to partner with Milford Regional and the communities it serves to build a more coordinated and affordable health care system.”
