Grantee Name
United Hospital Fund of New York
Funding Area
Empowering Health Care Consumers
Publication Date
November 2019
Grant Amount
$219,606
Grant Date:
November 2017 - October 2018
Each year, approximately 1 in 5 hospital patients in the United States, including some 300,000 New Yorkers, require continued care following hospital stays for major surgery or serious illness.
Yet too often, patients and their families do not have the critical information and support they need to carefully assess their options and make the best possible decisions. Post-acute care, including inpatient rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, home health agencies, and long-term care hospitals, is a critical and growing component of the health care system.
Although there have been recent reforms to smooth the transition of patients discharged from hospitals to post-acute facilities and improve continuity of care, the system is not functioning as well as it should. Current hospital discharge protocols often overlook patient preferences and limitations, and the rush to discharge can lead to poor choices with significant consequences. Helping patients and their families choose the right setting at the right time could improve outcomes and lower costs. In 2017, NYHealth awarded the United Hospital Fund of New York (UHF) a grant to improve the ability of patients and family caregivers to make informed decisions about post-acute care settings.