Date of Conferral

1-14-2026

Date of Award

1-14-2026

Degree

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.)

School

Health Sciences

Advisor

Dr. Donna Clews

Abstract

As CMS continues to prioritize quality care over quantity and positive patient outcomes, hospitals and nursing homes must ensure that their mission and goals align. The high rehospitalization rate is a current and ongoing concern among policymakers and healthcare administrators. Adverse patient outcomes and increased financial costs to both patients and Health Service Organization (HSO) administrators highlight the need to identify best practices to help reduce rehospitalization. The purpose of this integrative review is to identify best practices for reducing the high rate of 30-day rehospitalization among patients with dementia in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). The review question that guided this integrative review is: What best practices can be implemented to decrease the high rate of 30-day rehospitalization of patients with dementia from SNF? The theoretical framework used is the Donabedian framework. This framework structure encompasses the physical and organizational components of the facility, including ensuring adequate, qualified staff to care for patients. The process focuses on identifying best practices to help decrease the rehospitalization rate, while the outcome measure is a decrease in 30-day rehospitalization. The results of the thematic analysis identified four different themes. These themes include communication, risk prediction, incentives, and the specialty care unit. Skilled facilities must collaborate with hospitals and all relevant disciplines to help reduce the frequency of rehospitalizations among patients from these facilities. The implications of these findings provide best practices for decreasing the 30-day rehospitalization rate of patients with dementia from SNF, which helps promote positive social change.

Download

Share

 
COinS