Curbing Readmissions: Tricky Business, but URMC Named ‘Top Performer’

When it comes to the thorny problem of cutting hospital readmissions rates, a new report cites URMC as a top performer. In early October, leaders from “Best Practices for Better Care”—a patient quality- and safety-improvement initiative quarterbacked by both the University HealthSystem Consortium and the Association of American Medical Colleges—reached out, asking URMC leaders to spill their secrets for success.

Scores Prove: Hospitalists Paving Way for Better Patient Experience

As chief of URMC’s Division of Hospital Medicine, Andrew Rudmann, M.D., and fellow hospitalists are looking to make the hospital more intelligible, and a little smaller. Their techniques—handing business cards to patients, calling home to “check up” after they’ve left— are certainly creative. More importantly, they’re working.

Pilot Program Pushes Back Against Nurse Injury

With all the heavy lifting nurses do—quite literally putting their backs into their work—they’re exposed to a very hard-to-cure problem that could spell lifelong discomfort.

New ‘Virtual Care Center’ Choreographs Post-Discharge Care

As hospitals around the country work hard at winnowing down readmission rates, a new grant from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation will give URMC’s Strong Memorial Hospital the chance to try a fresh approach: A “virtual care center.”

Rapid Response Team Intervenes Before Situations Warrant ‘Code Level’ Care

Over time, most caregivers develop a sort of sixth sense—a trained ability to notice subtle clues and anticipate when a patient might heading for a dangerous turn. And it’s Mark Ott’s job, as he heads up Strong Memorial’s Adult Rapid Response Team, to help staff hone that instinct.