ON YOUR LETTERHEAD (Please Scan and Email Letter to )

ON YOUR LETTERHEAD (Please scan and email letter to )

May 11, 2012

Review Committee
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Baltimore, MD 21218

Re: Ohio’s Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Long-stay Nursing Home Residents (Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, Lead Agency)

Dear Members of the Review Committee:

This letter is in support of Ohio’s proposal to reduce avoidable hospitalizations among long-stay nursing home residents submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation by the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. The proposed study will use evidence-based practices to reduce hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations among our dually eligible nursing home residents, while preserving their quality of care.

I am <INSERT POSITION TITLE> at <INSERT NURSING HOME NAME>. We are a <INSERT PROFIT OR NON-PROFIT STATUS> facility, located in <INSERT CITY, COUNTY AND STATE). We have a total of <INSERT NUMBER> nursing home beds, which includes <INSERT NUMBER> of dually certified beds and an average monthly census of approximately <INSERT NUMBER>.

Our nursing home is a collaborating partner in this initiative, which includes Ohio’s Medicaid agency and its survey and certification agency, the Ohio Department of Health, the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, Permedion/Health Management Systems, and other partners. Our staff will collaborate with the care coordination agency and other partners to learn and implement the intervention, to identify risk factors associated with unnecessary hospitalizations and reduce them. Should hospitalization be required, we will facilitate timely exchange of health information with the hospitals we use. Should residents desire to transition back to the community, we will help facilitate this, as appropriate. We will also assist with collecting and submitting resident- and facility-level data needed to evaluate the success of this initiative.

We believe the proposed project is extremely important to improve the quality of care for long-term nursing home residents. Information generated from this project will make a significant contribution to the care transitions literature and the implementation of evidence-based practices. We will also collaborate with the coalition to sustain the intervention after the project ends.

I appreciate your consideration of this application and look forward to working with the coalition assembled by the Office of Ohio Health Plans, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, and Permedion/Health Management Systems.

Sincerely,

PLEASE SIGN

<INSERT NAME>

<INSERT TITLE>