The two hospitals in Jefferson County, WI, both had higher readmission rates than the state average, so they decided to collaborate and look for the cause and a solution. They were surprised at what they found.
About 45% of their readmissions were from aspirational pneumonia, a rate that surprised everyone. A team of professionals from both hospitals set out to investigate the issue and found that much of the problem was related to communication, says Sharon Olson, supervisor of the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Jefferson County in Jefferson, WI.
They conducted a survey of area nursing homes and assisted living facilities which found that the most commonly cited problem was poor communication between the hospital and their facilities. In addition, about half of those surveyed said they would welcome more education on how to prevent aspirational pneumonia.
The hospitals decided to develop a training program for aspiration pneumonia. The Safe Swallowing program provided education on what the condition is, how to make food for someone at risk, and how to help the person while eating. (The program is available online at: http://bit.ly/2lUBLFQ.)
They offered the program to nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in the community and it was well received. Olson and her colleagues presented the program to managers at the facilities as a train-the-trainer initiative. Both hospitals began to see their readmission rates improve.
“We started getting calls from people in the community who were concerned about the people they cared for, so we put together a presentation that was attended by about 20 people,” she says. “We are in the process now of creating some modules to build on the original training, and that will be available online.”
- Sharon Olson, Supervisor, Aging & Disability Resource Center of Jefferson County, Jefferson, WI. Telephone: (920) 674-8139. Email: [email protected].
