Training program for hospital trustees adopted

A state hospital trade group has endorsed an educational program for hospital trustees designed to help them monitor and improve quality at the institutions their boards oversee.

The Massachusetts Hospital Association said in a statement today its six-hour curriculum for trustees focuses on mission, culture, performance, leadership, and resource allocation. It was developed with the American Hospital Association and was supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Hospitals, health systems and medical centers may become eligible for incentives from the insurer’s pay-for-performance programs after their trustees complete the course, the hospital group said.

Six organizations took part in a pilot project to test the program, which is tailored to each healthcare setting. They were Emerson Hospital in Concord, HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster and Fitchburg, New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, North Shore Medical Center in Salem, North Adams Regional Hospital, and Atrius Health, a Newton-based alliance of physician groups, including Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.