Internal Promotion
Toolkit
To the RARE Campaign Team:
You have a tremendous opportunity through the RARE Campaign to address a major and complex
problem that plagues our care delivery system — avoidable hospital readmissions. We have developed
a suite of materials to help you effectively describe and explain the campaign, and promote your
participation in it. We realize that you are devoting a significant amount of time serving your patients
and developing innovations to improve care, so we hope that you will find this kit helpful.
We look forward to working with you and/or your hospital’s public relations/communications team to
help showcase your involvement in the campaign. If you have questions, please contact one of us.
Jim Trevis
Director of Marketing & Communications
Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement
jim.trevis@icsi.org, (952) 814-7080
Jan Hennings
Communications Director
Minnesota Hospital Association
jhennings@mnhospitals.org, (651) 603-3549
Deb McKinley
Communications and Outreach Manager
Stratis Health
dmckinley@stratishealth.org, (952) 853-8576
Toolkit Table of Contents
RARE Campaign Elevator Speech and Story ………………………………………………………... 3
Key Messages and Talking Points …………………………………………………………………… 5
Publicizing Your Involvement ……………………………………………………………………….. 8
Template RARE Campaign Press Release Announcement ………………………………….. 8
Newsletter Blurb: RARE Campaign Announcement ………………………………………...10
Notification Letter to Community Care Providers …………………………………………...11
Hosting a RARE Campaign Kick-Off Event ………………………………………………………...12
Format Suggestions …………………………………………………………………………..12
Sample Agenda ……………………………………………………………………………….13
Promoting Your Event ………………………………………………………………………………..14
Who to Invite …………………………………………………………………………………14
Sample Email Invitations …………………………………………………………………….15
Sample Event Signage ………………………………………………………………………..17
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Elevator Speech and Story to Support the RARE Campaign
This RARE Campaign elevator speech and story will help you explain the RARE Campaign and its value. These
items should prove helpful when talking to others about the program including staff, stakeholders and media.
RARE Elevator Speech
Many of us have likely had a loved one sent home from the hospital only to be readmitted a few days or
weeks later. We can all identify with the sense of anxiety and unrest felt by the patients and families
involved when this occurs. Many of these readmissions could be prevented.
The RARE (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign engages hospitals and care
providers across the continuum of care with the goal of preventing 4,000 avoidable hospital
readmissions across Minnesota between July 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2012.
The campaign is broadly supported by numerous stakeholders. The Institute for Clinical Systems
Improvement (ICSI), the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), and Stratis Health are serving as
Operating Partners and leading the campaign. The Minnesota Medical Association and MN Community
Measurement are Supporting Partners, while a growing list of Community Partners that includes
providers, health plans, state health agencies, home health agencies, nursing homes, patient advocacy
groups and other community organizations are endorsing the campaign.
This broad-based, collaborative campaign acknowledges that avoidable readmissions are the result of a
fragmented health care system. The changes that hospitals and providers implement through this
campaign will help patients and families avoid unnecessary re-hospitalizations and their associated
burdens, plus it will make health care more affordable for Minnesotans by saving tens of millions of
dollars annually.
[HOSPITAL NAME] is participating in the RARE Campaign because it’s the right thing to do to
increase the quality and lower the cost of health care. Through the campaign we’ll have the support and
resources we need to give focused attention to an issue that spans beyond our hospital walls.
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RARE Elevator Story
An elevator story communicates the most essential information about an organization or situation in a paragraph
or series of bullets that can be shared with others in the course of a brief conversation.

We likely have had a loved one return to the hospital a few days or weeks after being discharged,
and can identify with the sense of anxiety and unrest felt by those involved when this occurs.

Many of these readmissions could be prevented.

The RARE Campaign has the goal of preventing 4,000 avoidable hospital readmissions in
Minnesota between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012.

The campaign’s Operating Partners are the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, the
Minnesota Hospital Association and Stratis Health. Numerous other Supporting and Community
Partners — representing other medical associations, provider groups, health plans, state health
agencies, patient advocacy groups and other community groups — are supporting the campaign.

Hospitals participating in the campaign will commit to meet specific readmission reduction
goals, and partner with their local care delivery organizations to achieve them.

The campaign will focus on five key areas that, when not done properly, contribute to hospital
readmissions: 1) comprehensive discharge planning, 2) medication management, 3) patient and
family engagement, 4) transition care support, and 5) transition communications.

Participating hospitals will receive support to implement the interventions most likely to
accelerate their work and achieve success.

Achieving the campaign’s goal will help avoid unnecessary re-hospitalizations and ensure 4,000
patients and families spend 16,000 more nights in their own beds instead of in a hospital. Plus it
has the potential to save tens of millions of dollars, making health care more affordable for
Minnesotans.
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Key Messages and Talking Points about the RARE Campaign
Key messages capture the most important ideas for a given audience and help overcome barriers to forming
desired attitudes or taking desired actions. Talking points help you elaborate further on your key messages.
The RARE Campaign is a broad-based health care community initiative to engage hospitals and
providers across the continuum of care in an intensive effort to prevent 4,000 avoidable
readmissions in Minnesota by Dec. 31, 2012.




All hospitals in Minnesota are invited to participate in the campaign.
The RARE Campaign seeks to achieve the Triple Aim goals of improving population health, the
patient care experience and the affordability of care.
Achieving this goal will help patients and families spend 16,000 more nights in their own beds
instead of in a hospital.
It will also save tens of millions of dollars annually, making health care more affordable.
The RARE Campaign is important to our patients and community because while most hospital
readmissions are needed, many are avoidable.



Almost 20% of Medicare patients in Minnesota are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of
discharge.
18 other states have fewer readmissions than Minnesota.
Involving many hospitals and the provider groups that care for patients after hospitalization will
help better coordinate and improve patient care faster.
The RARE Campaign builds upon existing work by other stakeholders.



This campaign builds upon the work and pilots done over the past two years by the Institute for
Clinical Systems Improvement, HealthPartners, the Minnesota Council of Health Plans,
Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Stratis Health and many other
medical, health plan, state and patient advocacy groups.
The RARE Campaign is designed to combine many efforts into a more unified, concerted effort
to reduce avoidable readmissions faster across a broad region.
Many hospitals have been working on reducing readmissions. This campaign intends to leverage
and accelerate that work.
Many avoidable hospital readmissions are the result of a fragmented care delivery system, and
can be addressed by better coordinating care at discharge and after hospitalization.

The campaign will engage those provider groups that coordinate and care for patients after
hospitalization — including nursing homes, home health agencies and families — to reduce
avoidable readmissions.
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
The campaign’s elements will focus on addressing those issues known to contribute to avoidable
readmissions:
o Inadequate information/preparation for post-discharge care and self-care.
o Incomplete/inadequate hospital records and discharge instructions not shared with/sent to
primary care clinicians or organizations that authorize or provide post-discharge care.
o Untimely and uncoordinated post-hospital care.
o Preventable medical errors/complications during the first hospital stay.
The RARE Campaign has broad-based support among numerous stakeholders.

The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, the Minnesota Hospital Association, and Stratis
Health are serving as Operating Partners for the campaign.

Numerous Supporting and Community Partners — representing other medical associations,
provider groups, health plans, state health agencies, nursing homes, home health agencies,
patient advocacy groups and other community groups — are supporting the campaign.

The Minnesota health care community’s willingness to collaborate makes such a broad campaign
possible.

The broad-based support among multiple provider groups will help better coordinate care as
patients transition from one provider to another, as many avoidable readmissions are the result of
a fragmented health care system. Starting with the hospital, but engaging other caregivers who
coordinate a patient’s care after hospitalization, we can reduce avoidable readmissions, plus
improve care delivery overall and strengthen relationships among providers in our communities.
The RARE Campaign will focus on five key areas known to reduce avoidable readmissions.



Five key areas:
o Comprehensive discharge planning
o Medication management
o Patient and family engagement
o Transition care support
o Transition communications
Each focus area will incorporate existing best practices and be supported by experts in the field.
Each focus area will have a designated list of activities for participants to complete, which may
include face-to-face sessions.
The RARE Campaign helps hospitals align with national efforts to reduce avoidable
readmissions.

This initiative complements the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services work to reduce
avoidable hospital readmissions at the national level.
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
The Affordable Care Act’s hospital readmissions reduction program will help hospitals smooth
transitions for patients and reward hospitals that successfully reduce avoidable readmissions.

Hospitals with higher than expected risk-adjusted 30-day readmission performance can incur
penalties up to 1% of their total inpatient Medicare payments beginning in fiscal year 2013 (i.e.,
starting Oct. 1, 2012). The penalty increases each year after that. CMS will evaluate prior years’
readmissions data, effectively starting the clock ticking on Oct. 1, 2011.

The goals of the RARE Campaign are more aggressive than the goals set nationally by CMS.
We have an opportunity to lead the nation in reducing avoidable readmissions. The best practices
and lessons learned by participating hospitals and care providers can be shared nationwide and
adopted at others hospitals and medical centers across the country.
Participating hospitals will receive significant support from Operating Partners and other
collaborating partners in order to achieve their readmission reduction goals.

Operating Partners will help participating hospitals set specific readmissions reduction goals, as
well as conduct an organizational assessment of their current practices to identify the greatest
opportunities for reducing readmissions.

Operating Partners will assign a Resource Consultant to partner with throughout the campaign.
Hospitals will receive support from experts in the five key focus areas, as well as toolkits and
opportunities to network and collaborate with other participating hospitals.
The RARE Campaign offers many benefits to patients and the community.

The campaign will help ensure patients and their families don’t experience the anxiety and
burden that results from returning to the hospital when the stay could have been avoided.

With the average hospital stay at four days, achieving the RARE Campaign goals will help
patients and their families enjoy 16,000 more nights in their own beds instead of in the hospital.

The organizational assessment completed for the campaign will help a participating hospital
identify those areas where it can improve the most to prevent avoidable readmissions.

The campaign’s design improves the transitions of patients between the hospital and other care
provider groups, creating a foundation for subsequent efforts to reduce avoidable admissions.
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Publicizing Your Involvement
Template RARE Campaign Press Release Announcement
This is a template press release for distribution to local media announcing your participation in the RARE
Campaign. We suggest working with your hospital communications staff to identify and pitch this to the most
appropriate publication(s).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Month, Day, 2011
Contact:
[Name, Title
[Phone Number]
[HOSPITAL NAME] JOINS RARE CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT
AVOIDABLE HOSPITAL READMISSIONS
[CITY], Minnesota —[HOSPITAL NAME] is pleased to announce it is participating in the RARE
(Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign. This statewide campaign brings hospitals
and other providers who coordinate patient care after hospitalization together with the goal of preventing
4,000 avoidable hospital readmissions in Minnesota by Dec. 31, 2012.
All hospitals in Minnesota have been invited to participate in the RARE Campaign. By securing the
participation of many hospitals and their community health partners, the campaign seeks to help
prevent more avoidable readmissions faster and across the entire state.
“Most re-hospitalizations are necessary but many can be avoided by better preparing patients to
maintain their health after hospitalization, and by improving communication and coordination as the
patient transfers from the hospital to another care provider,” said [HOSPITAL LEADER’S NAME,
TITLE]. “[HOSPITAL NAME] is pleased to be part of the campaign because not only can we help
patients and their families in our community spend more nights in their own beds instead of in the
hospital, but we can help Minnesota save tens of millions of dollars annually, making health care
more affordable.”
Hospital staff at (HOSPITAL NAME) will work on one or more of five key areas known to help
reduce avoidable readmissions: comprehensive discharge planning, medication management,
patient and family engagement, transition care support, and transition communications. They will
reach out to other health care organizations in the community to work together in a concerted effort
in these areas.
The RARE Campaign is being led by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, Minnesota
Hospital Association and Stratis Health. They are providing a resource consultant, recognized
experts, toolkits and opportunities to network and learn from other hospitals to support (HOSPITAL
NAME’s) efforts to reduce avoidable readmissions.
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Other organizations, including provider groups, state health agencies, health plans, home health
agencies, nursing homes, and patient advocacy groups, are also supporting the broad-based
initiative.
“The entire nation is tackling this complex health care issue,” said [HOSPITAL LEADER’S
NAME, TITLE]. “[HOSPITAL NAME]’s participation in this program shows that we are
committed to being a leader in improving patient care and in strengthening the coordination of care
across our entire community. Furthermore, we can help Minnesota lead the country in reducing
avoidable readmissions.”
###
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Newsletter Blurb: RARE Campaign Announcement
This is a template newsletter article or blurb for placement in any of your internal hospital news publications,
web site or local community media. Articles like these will promote your commitment to quality improvement and
superior patient care. We suggest working with your hospital communications staff to identify and place this in
the most appropriate publication(s).
[HOSPITAL NAME] is pleased to announce that it is participating in the RARE (Reducing
Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign. This broadly supported, statewide campaign
brings hospitals and other providers who coordinate patient care after hospitalization together with
the goal of preventing 4,000 avoidable hospital readmissions in Minnesota by Dec. 31, 2012.
“Most re-hospitalizations are necessary but many can be avoid by better preparing patients for home
or self care, and by improving communication and coordination as the patient transfers from the
hospital to another care provider,” said [HOSPITAL LEADER’S NAME, TITLE]. “[HOSPITAL
NAME] is pleased to be part of the campaign because not only can we help patients and their
families spend more nights in their own beds instead of in the hospital, but we can help Minnesota
save tens of millions of dollars annually, making health care more affordable.”
Hospital staff at (HOSPITAL NAME) will work on some of the five key areas known to help
reduce avoidable readmissions: comprehensive discharge planning, medication management,
patient and family engagement, transition care support, and transition communications. They will
reach out to other health care organizations in the community to work together in a concerted effort
in these areas.
The RARE Campaign is being led by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, Minnesota
Hospital Association and Stratis Health. They are providing a resource consultant, recognized
experts, toolkits and opportunities to network and learn from other hospitals to support (HOSPITAL
NAME’s) efforts to reduce avoidable readmissions.
Other organizations, including provider groups, state health agencies, health plans, home health
agencies, nursing homes, and patient advocacy groups, are also supporting the broad-based
initiative.
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Notification Letter to Community Care Providers
This is a template letter to notify other care providers in your community about your involvement in the RARE
Campaign, and your hospital’s desire to team with them to reduce avoidable readmissions.
Your Hospital Letterhead
Date
Name
Organization
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear [Name]:
Our community has an incredible opportunity to address a major and complex problem that plagues our
care delivery system  avoidable hospital readmissions. Many of us have likely had a loved one sent
home from the hospital only to be readmitted a few days or weeks later. We can all identify with the
sense of anxiety and unrest felt by the patients and families involved when this occurs. Many hospital
readmissions can be prevented.
That is why [HOSPITAL NAME] is participating in the RARE (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions
Effectively) Campaign, which is engaging hospitals and care providers across the continuum of care
with the goal of preventing 4,000 avoidable hospital readmissions across Minnesota between July 1,
2011 and Dec. 31, 2012. And we need your help.
We are asking your organization to support the campaign by collaborating with us to reduce avoidable
hospital readmissions. Such avoidable readmissions are a result of our fragmented health care system,
and we know your input and support will help patients maintain their health better after discharge. By
working with our leadership and others at the hospital as a team we can better coordinate care transitions
for our patients and ensure they sleep in their own beds instead of the hospital.
Numerous stakeholders broadly support the campaign. The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement,
the Minnesota Hospital Association, and Stratis Health are serving as Operating Partners and leading the
campaign. The Minnesota Medical Association and MN Community Measurement are Supporting
Partners, while a growing list of Community Partners that includes providers, health plans, state health
agencies, home health agencies, nursing homes, patient advocacy groups and other community
organizations are endorsing the campaign.
Please consider working with [HOSPITAL NAME] to provide expertise and help us develop strategies
and tactics that will engage all stakeholders to achieve the RARE Campaign’s goals. We will follow up
with a phone call shortly to discuss what this participation may look like and try to answer any questions
you have. Thank you for considering this very important work; your commitment will be key.
Sincerely,
[Hospital Staff Name and Contact Information]
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Hosting a Kick-Off Event
Format Suggestions
This section contains suggestions on how to plan and organize a kick-off event for your participation in the RARE
Campaign. While not required, past hospital-based quality improvement programs have shown that hospitals that
start off their work with more fanfare develop and sustain significantly more momentum throughout the program
than their counterparts that do not. A good deal of the details on the type of event to host will be specific to your
particular institution, so feel free to adapt when necessary.
The first decision that must be made is what format the event will take. The kick-off event is meant to be
informative, casual and celebratory. A breakfast briefing to which your team invites hospital leaders,
department heads and staff, patient advocates and other provider groups in your community so that they
may learn about the RARE Campaign and the role they can play in helping your hospital prevent
avoidable readmissions is an example of such an event. A lengthy event is not recommended. A simple
reception with beverages, pastries and a few speakers (for example, a senior officer and the designated
leader and physician champion for the campaign) would suffice.
Your team may also decide to hold an afternoon luncheon or evening dessert reception to accommodate
work schedules. The importance of the event is to introduce the RARE Campaign to key leaders,
demonstrate your commitment to reducing avoidable readmissions, and engage other care providers in
your community on how they can support the hospital’s effort.
Your team is encouraged to tailor these event suggestions to the unique needs of your institution.
Whatever venue you choose, remember to address such pertinent details as reserving a space,
coordinating audiovisual equipment needs, arranging seating, developing materials, ordering
refreshments and more.
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Sample Agenda
As soon as you settle on a date, time and location in the hospital, we suggest you put together a detailed agenda
to keep things organized and help you manage all of the details.
This is a sample agenda for an informal breakfast briefing with participation from a few members of your
hospital leadership.
The RARE Campaign Kick-Off Breakfast Briefing
Breakfast food and coffee, tea and juice service are set up. Audiovisual equipment is set
up and tested, if needed.
8:30 AM
Guests arrive, eat breakfast and mingle. Your hospital’s RARE team members mingle
and casually discuss the program with arriving guests.
8:45 AM
Hospital RARE Campaign project leader gives welcoming remarks, thanks attendees for
coming, briefly highlights why event is taking place, and invites hospital CEO to make
remarks.
8:50 AM
Hospital CEO briefly addresses event crowd and stresses the importance of preventing
avoidable readmissions and hospital’s commitment to doing so.
8:55 AM
Hospital CEO or project lead shows provided patient/provider testimonial video followed
by a PowerPoint presentation (if desired) that explains the need for the campaign and
broad support behind it, plus spells out the hospital’s reductions goals and support behind
the campaign. Otherwise, delivers key talking points on why hospital is participating
without tools, and why other providers in the continuum of care are important to success.
9:15 AM
Project leader introduces team members working on the hospital’s RARE initiative.
Indicates one or more of five focus areas they will work on (if known). Explains to
internal staff and/or external stakeholders how they can support the campaign.
9:25 AM
RARE project lead thanks everyone for attending, closes the event and encourages staff
and guests to connect with the RARE team members present to coordinate work going
forward.
9:30 AM
RARE team members circulate amongst group, talk with attendees about the program and
address any questions they may have.
Event ends.
(Ending option: You can order a poster — see Internal Promotion link at
www.RAREreadmissions.org, and have all attendees sign it to show their strong
commitment to the campaign. This poster can be displayed in the hospital as a daily
reminder of the hospital’s and community’s support to prevent avoidable readmissions.)
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Promoting Your Event
Who to Invite
This event is both an opportunity to introduce the RARE Campaign to internal stakeholders and explain
why it is a strategic focus of your hospital. If you have formed your Coordinated Continuum of Care
Guidance Team and Work Team, make sure their members are present. Then also consider other
physicians, nurses, emergency department staff, registration, admissions, discharge, outpatient services
and information systems that will contribute to reducing avoidable readmissions in some fashion
throughout the campaign who will regularly work with members of these two teams. Most importantly,
be sure to invite all of your teams’ members and any support staff who are campaign champions.
Others to invite include hospital leadership and executives including, but not limited to, your CEO,
CFO, CMO and CNO.
You may also want to invite external audiences, as they play a key role in coordinating patient care and
can be great partners for reducing avoidable readmissions. These community stakeholders include, but
are not limited to, primary care clinics, public health officials, medical and nurse associations, nursing
homes, home health agencies, patient advocates, business supporters and volunteers, etc.
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Sample Invitation to Hospital Executives, Community Stakeholders and Other VIPs
The first step in coordinating your hospital’s event is to check on the availability of senior hospital administrators
– including the CEO, CMO, CNO or others—to attend. Ideally, you’ll have at least one senior administrator. You
may want to have their assistants check their calendars before you send the suggested event invitation letter for
your hospital executives below. This will allow you to invite them to an event on a day and time that you already
know works for their schedules.
[MONTH] [DATE], 2011
Dear [EXECUTIVE NAME]
On behalf of the RARE (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign team at
[HOSPITAL NAME], I invite you to join us at [EVENT TIME] on [EVENT DATE] for a [EVENT
DESCRIPTION] to kick off our participation in this important, statewide initiative.
The RARE Campaign brings together numerous hospitals and providers across the care continuum with
the statewide goal of preventing 4,000 avoidable readmissions in Minnesota by Dec. 31, 2012.
(HOSPITAL NAME) has committed to do our part to achieve this goal, and as you play a role with
quality improvement and patient discharge, we want to meet to explain the campaign, discuss its
implementation, and how it will engage not only our staff, but other care providers outside the hospital.
Your participation in this important celebration would provide a vital boost in recognizing the
importance of this initiative at [HOSPITAL NAME].
I hope that you will join us.
Sincerely,
[NAME OF HOSPITAL RARE Campaign Lead]
[HOSPITAL TITLE] & the entire [HOSPITAL NAME] RARE team
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Sample General Invitation
This is a general event invitation email for team members and other hospital staff. We suggest distributing it at
least two weeks prior to the event.
Subject: RARE Campaign Kick-off Celebration
Dear Colleagues,
The RARE (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign team at [HOSPITAL NAME]
invites you to join us to celebrate our participation in this important statewide quality improvement
initiative.
Please join us for a [EVENT DESCRIPTION (i.e. breakfast briefing)] at [TIME] on [DATE] to
celebrate [HOSPITAL NAME]’s commitment to helping Minnesota prevent 4,000 avoidable
readmissions by Dec. 31, 2012.
The RARE Campaign is a statewide initiative led by the Minnesota Hospital Association, Institute for
Clinical Systems Improvement and Stratis Health, and supported by many other health care
stakeholders. (HOSPITAL NAME) is participating in this program because, by working with other
hospitals and care providers, we can improve the care of our patients and their care experience, as well
as make health care more affordable in our community.
The RARE team at [HOSPITAL NAME] will work on one or more areas known to help prevent
avoidable readmissions. The support of other care providers in this campaign will help ensure we
improve care across the entire care delivery system.
[HOSPITAL NAME] will be holding an event that will feature [2-3 SENTENCE, BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT, INCLUDING DETAILS ON FOOD, DRINKS AND SPEAKERS]
When: DATE AND TIME
Where: LOCATION OF EVENT
Who: EVENT SPEAKERS, TITLES (IF APPLICABLE)
We hope that you will join us!
Sincerely,
[NAME OF HOSPITAL RARE PROJECT LEADER]
[HOSPITAL TITLE] & the entire [HOSPITAL NAME] RARE team
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Sample Event Signage
Below is a snapshot image of customizable event signage that you can print in flyer and/or poster sizes to distribute and/or
hang throughout the hospital. Files will be sent to you in separate, editable formats. In the spaces provided, you can insert
details about your event time, location, etc. and hospital’s logo.
We suggest having signage printed two weeks before the event and distributed/posted three to five days in advance of the
event in places such as nurse’s stations, employee break rooms, the cafeteria, etc.
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