An Innovative Transitional Care Program Improves Community Health

In this month's Magnet® Perspectives column, Barbara Richardson, MSN, RN-BC, CCRN, clinical nurse specialist at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, examines the ways in which a robust transitional care program improves community health, reduces readmissions and emergency department visits, and provides valuable social support for even the most complex patients. Richardson shares critical factors that impacted the program's success, including a Magnet® environment of innovation, a visionary hospital leadership team, strong community alliances, and collaborative solutions to previously intractable problems. Her efforts to build and implement a successful transitional care program earned Richardson the 2016 National Magnet® Nurse of the Year Award for Structural Empowerment.