This Bootcamp Blog reports on what nursing homes are doing and using to improve care transitions.  Our blog posts share implementation tips for using INTERACT, a quality improvement intervention that has been shown to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations among nursing home residents by as much as 24%.  The tips come from 40 California nursing homes that are participating in a series of monthly Bootcamp coaching calls.  The coaching series is administered by CALTCM with support from the California Health Care Foundation.

“These nursing homes are doing a terrific job of improving care for their residents,” said CALTCM program director Anna Rahman, who writes the Bootcamp Blog.  “The blog allows us to share what they’ve learned through practice in their nursing homes for the benefit of other nursing homes. “

Dr. Dan Osterweil, a CALTCM board member, noted that while INTERACT provides standardized assessment and communication tools, “there is still much we don’t know about how this program and other care-transition improvements are actually implemented in nursing homes. Our Bootcamp nursing homes are pioneers in this respect; they’re our learning labs.”

Recent blog posts share implementation tips for using INTERACT tools such as the SBAR (for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Request) and the Stop & Watch, a tool for report early signs of a change in resident condition.  Readers are invited to share their experiences with using these and related care-transition tools.  They also can rate these transition management tools on the site.

“We hope readers will let us know what they’re doing to improve care transitions,” Rahman said. “Together we’ll make progress much faster.”