10 An acute care hospital has found that having geriatric nurse specialist take charge of discharge planning for stroke patients reduces length of…

14.10 An acute care hospital has found that having geriatric nurse specialist take charge of discharge planning for stroke patients reduces length of stays for 5.4 days to 5.2 days. On average the geriatric nurse specialist (who earns $27 per hour including fringe benefits) spends 3.3 hours on discharge planning per patient. Supply and telephone costs are less than $10 per discharge plan. Your accounting staff tells you the average cost per day is $860 and the incremental cost per day is about $340. Is this innovation financially attractive? Whether it is or not, what alternatives should the hospital consider?