Almost every hospitalist knows what it’s like to see a familiar face that of a patient back in the hospital. Hundreds of hospitals across the country are learning that readmissions not only are a drain on hospitals and hospitalists, but they’re also preventable.

Now, thanks to the next cohort of SHM’s Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older Adults through Safe Transitions), which starts in October, even more hospitals can participate in this nationally recognized program to help reduce readmissions.

Sept. 1 is the deadline for Project BOOST applications, but now is the time to begin assembling applications. The Project BOOST application requires letters of support from hospital leadership and other elements that make last-minute applications difficult, if not impossible.

Project BOOST is a mentored-implementation, quality-improvement (QI) project. Here is what the program offers:

• A comprehensive intervention developed by a panel of nationally recognized experts based on the best-available evidence;
• Step-by-step instructions and project management tools, such as the Teachback Training Curriculum, to help interdisciplinary teams redesign workflow and plan, implement, and evaluate the intervention;
• Longitudinal technical assistance that provides face-to-face training and a year of expert mentoring and coaching to implement BOOST interventions that build a culture that supports safe and complete transitions. The mentoring program provides a “train the trainer” DVD and a curriculum for nurses and case managers on using the Teachback process, and webinars targeting the educational needs of other team members, including administrators, data analysts, physicians, nurses, and others;
• The ability for sites to communicate with and learn from each other via the BOOST listserv, BOOST community site, and quarterly all-site teleconferences and webinars; and
• The BOOST Data Center, an online resource center that allows sites to store and benchmark data against control units and other sites and generate reports.