Grants support improved discharge process from hospitals to help ease capacity constraints while supporting patients in returning to their communities

The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded $3 million in grants to acute care hospitals and Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) across Massachusetts through the Hospital to Home Partnership Program. The program is designed to build partnerships between hospitals and ASAPs to strengthen communication and coordination with community providers.

Hospital and ASAP partners will work together to ensure that the appropriate services and supports are in place to enable hospital patients to transition directly to home and community-based settings after discharge, with appropriate services and supports. ASAP awardees will use these funds to hire dedicated personnel, to work in partnership with the hospital and other regional partners to help connect patients and their families to resources and services in their own communities, ensuring that the appropriate supports are put into place within their homes. Awardees may also use the funds to implement programs or technologies that will ease patient transitions from hospital to home.

“As hospitals continue to face strain due to workforce shortages, it is critical that we find new ways to better serve patients in their homes and communities,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. “Through these partnerships, hospitals and local ASAPs will collaborate to better meet individual patient needs in home and community-based settings, improving health outcomes and alleviating pressure on hospital resources and staff.”

“MHA and our members are deeply grateful for the Healey-Driscoll administration’s investment in community-based care at a time when it is needed most. In addition to providing individuals with the supports they need after leaving the hospital, this program will help open beds for other patients who require an acute level of care,” said Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association president and CEO Steve Walsh. “Our healthcare system remains under significant pressure, and this is a solution that can make a tremendous difference for care access, wait times, and the strain on caregivers.”

“These grants will allow more people to be safely discharged to their home and community after a hospital stay with the support they need,” said Mass Home Care Association President and Tri-Valley, Inc. Executive Director Lisa Prince. “The ASAP network is grateful for the opportunity to solidify and build on our longstanding relationships with our hospital partners to facilitate these discharges to the community.”

Funding for the grant came from the American Rescue Plan Act and provides up to $300,000 to awardee ASAPs and hospitals in partnership, over the next two years.

 AWARDEES

• Greater Springfield Senior Services in partnership with Baystate Health
• Western Mass Eldercare Inc. in partnership with Holyoke Medical Center
• Elder Services of Worcester in partnership with UMass Memorial
• Tri-Valley Inc. in partnership with Milford Regional Medical Center
• AgeSpan Inc. in partnership with Lawrence General Hospital
• Somerville Cambridge Elder Services in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance
• Mystic Valley Elder Services Inc. in partnership with Tufts Medicine Melrose Wakefield Hospital
• Springwell Inc. in partnership with Newton Wellesley Hospital
• Old Colony Elder Services In. in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth