Long Stay Escalation Project Team, Mental Health

Recognizing that serving a complex and vulnerable population sometimes meant delayed patient discharges, Villa Caritas formed the Long Stay Escalation Project Team to address barriers that keep patients from returning home. Staying beyond the point when patients need acute care can have far-reaching impacts—not only do patients spend more time away from their homes and communities, but other patients in need can’t be admitted as quickly.

The project team worked to identify discharge obstacles and found staff spent a lot of time working with families to gather the right documentation and select placement options for their loved ones. The team created tools to help families better navigate this process and understand their roles, made sure staff had the information they needed to support families and developed an escalation pathway to resolve challenges. Since making these enhancements, Villa Caritas care teams have been better able to support families and the average length of stay for patients has dropped, allowing the site to care for more patients in need.