Healthbeat---Healthcare Quality

The focus this month is on quality, safety and performance improvement.  Chuck Gijanto, president of Baystate Health Regional Markets, explains methods by which hospitals are rated for quality and safety.  Nancy Woodring, BFMC Quality and Risk Management Department, and Roseann Martoccia, executive director of Franklin County Home Care Corp.,  discuss the STAAR initiative, State Action on Avoidable Readmissions, and how an interdisciplinary team involving several healthcare organizations is working to reduce the readmission rate for patients with heart failure.