Baystate Noble Hospital Works to Improve Care Using CHART Grant

WESTFIELD — Baystate Noble Hospital has been awarded a $1.2 million CHART grant from the Mass. Health Policy Commission (MHPC) to improve patient care in Greater Westfield.

The Community Hospital Acceleration, Revitalization and Transformation (CHART) Investment Program is a two-year-long initiative to focus attention on avoidable hospital readmissions, celebrate how hospitals and communities are working together to improve care transitions, and help patients and families understand the role they can play in their healthcare.

A formal presentation will be held on Friday, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. in Conference Room A of Baystate Noble Hospital. In attendance will be David Seltz, executive director of the Mass. Health Policy Commission, and Iyah Romm, policy director, Care Delivery Innovation and Investment at the MHPC. The MHPC aims to modernize healthcare payment and delivery models to establish a more accountable, affordable system.

“The purpose of the CHART Investment Program is to accelerate the transformation of healthcare in Massachusetts by keeping care in the community setting. We hope that the focused project aims, along with technology and planning requirements, will enable the Commonwealth’s community hospitals to provide efficient, effective care that meets the community needs,” said Dr. Paul Hattis, commissioner of the MHPC.

Baystate Noble Hospital is one of 30 community hospitals in Massachusetts sharing $60 million in CHART grant awards.

One of the biggest focuses of the CHART program is to reduce hospital readmissions. Repeated hospital visits are bad for a patient’s health; expensive for hospitals, insurance companies, and consumers; and burdensome for caregivers and families. In order to reduce readmissions, hospitals must work with local organizations, patients, and families to support patients. Patients more likely to be admitted multiple times may include those with chronic diseases, a lack of continued outside support (services or family), insufficient transitional care, a lack of knowledge about health or nutrition, and those without primary or specialty providers.

The Baystate Noble CHART team will work to identify patients who have had three or more inpatient admissions, or nine or more emergency admissions, over a year’s time. They will meet with those patients to complete medical and behavioral-health assessments and identify possible future problems.

In addition to educating patients about their health problems, tests, and medications while in the hospital, the CHART team will help coordinate care with other providers and services after discharge. Team members will also make follow-up visits and phone calls to continue care and avoid unnecessary readmissions.