Rush University Medical Center in Chicago made the Thomson Reuters list of Top 100 hospitals, thanks partly to the work of social workers. To read the full article click here.

Staff from the hospital’s Older Adult Programs and Case Management Department created the Enhanced Discharged Planning Program to help vulnerable patients after they are released from the hospital. Social workers call patients to make sure they are taking medication properly, receiving food, or have access to other services.

The program keeps down medical costs by reducing the number of “frequent fliers,” or patients who have to return to the hospital frequently. Almost 20 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are readmitted to Rush within a month after release, and each older adult readmission costs the hospital an average of $7,400.

Q: Is your hospital using social workers to check up on and provide services to recently released patients?