Shaping service-academia partnerships to facilitate safe and quality transitions in care

A service-academic partnership program formed from evidence-based literature suggests re-admission rates can be lowered through better preparation of clients during discharge by focusing on areas of client education as developed by Coleman and associates (2002). Along with improved client care, the program was intended to address changes in the 2012 Medicare policy that will cease payment for avoidable 30-day re-admissions in the three target diagnoses. To address this change in policy, the service-academic partnership program sought to share fiscal and administrative responsibilities between the authors' university nursing department and the largest community hospital in the area. The tangible impacts and outcomes of the program, including improved patient safety and increased patient satisfaction, in conjunction with a decreased cost of care and reduction in avoidable re-admissions, have solidified the program's standing as a permanent component of the service platform. The program's utilization of best practices and the simultaneous development of new practices to address emerging patient and community needs have created a sustainable framework for the program.