Starting this fall, Community Memorial Hospital will be part of a national pilot project for small, rural hospitals focusing on transfers from the emergency department.
The project is supported by MetaStar and funded through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Office of Rural Health is also working in partnership on this effort. Wisconsin is one of eight states participating in the pilot project.
While emergency care is important in all hospitals, it is particularly critical in rural hospitals where the distance from urban medical centers makes the effective triage, stabilization and transfer of patients essential. For example, when a patient arrives at Community Memorial Hospital’s emergency department needing time-sensitive care that requires transfer to a tertiary care center, Community Memorial Hospital’s ability to quickly assess, arrange and transfer the patient with the necessary and appropriate information can be of life or death importance.
Information indicating how well a rural hospital serves this important role is not widely available. This pilot project will provide support for Community Memorial Hospital and other rural hospitals to be trained to collect information on emergency department transfer communication and use it to improve quality of care, safety and outcomes for patients transferred from their emergency departments.
“Being a part of this group gives us the opportunity to focus even more intently on improving the lives of the people who live and work in our community and surrounding areas,” said Daniel DeGroot, Community Memorial Hospital CEO.
Categories
