Foundation Program Sites

Hospital Readmissions

Congratulations to our 2024 Bree Collaborative award winner for Best Practices in Potentially Avoidable Hospital Readmissions:

  • Arbor Health
  • Community Health Plan of Washington
  • UW Medicine & UW Physicians
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • MultiCare
  • United Healthcare

(Adopted July 2014)

(Adopted November 2013)

Unplanned hospital readmissions are often due to the lack of a comprehensive and patient-centered discharge plan or care coordination. These potentially avoidable hospital readmissions are a sign of low quality care, lead to poor patient health, and are expensive. This workgroup met from May 2012 to March 2013 and reconvened with new membership to meet from April to June 2014 and developed the following strategies: 

  • Alignment with local activities to reduce hospital readmissions
  • Increasing measurement, transparency, and reporting
  • Tying physician and hospital payment to the reduction of avoidable hospital readmissions

Supporting Materials

Workgroup Charter
Letter from Health Care Authority Accepting Recommendations
Public Comments

Workgroup Members

Member Title Organization
Sharon Eloranta, MD Medical Director, Quality and Safety Initiatives Qualis Health
Stuart Freed, MD Medical Director Wenatchee Valley Medical Center
Rick Goss, MD, MPH Medical Director Harborview Medical Center – University of Washington
Leah Hole-Marshall, JD Medical Administrator Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
Dan Lessler, MD, MHA Medical Director Health Care Authority
Robert Mecklenburg, MD Medical Director, Center for Health Care Solutions Virginia Mason Medical Center
Amber Theel, RN, MBA Director, Patient Safety Practices Washington State Hospital Association

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