Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships:
Phil Mitchell, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Zehra Abid-Wood: Disclosure information not submitted.
Even if they recover from the original illness or injury that brought them there, about one-third of hospital patients over 70 years old, and more than half of patients over 85, leave in worse condition than when they arrived. And with the global pandemic, threats of hospital-acquired infection and quality of care concerns tied to capacity have propelled hospitalization risks for seniors to the forefront, making strategies for treating the elderly in place being an emerging priority.
During the first half of 2021, Five Star, the fifth-largest senior living operator in the U.S. and DispatchHealth, a pioneer in delivering hospital-grade acute care services in the home, piloted an innovative partnership in select independent assisted living communities. Instead of relying on hospital emergency rooms to address emergent but not immediately life-threatening care, Five Star called a mobile acute care team to come in-house. An advanced practice provider and a medical technician arrive equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including a lab for point of care testing, Xray and EKG, to diagnose & treat without patients ever leaving the comfort of home. As a result, the program saw a substantive reduction in unnecessary emergency room visits while garnering unprecedented patient satisfaction scores.
Industry data suggests 70% or more of emergency room patients could safely receive treatment in a more cost-effective, patient-centric environment. This program aims to discuss a new approach to care and operational practices that elevates quality-of-care by partnering to extend treatment in-house at no added cost to the facility and while keeping residents safely in place. The presentation will dive deeper into program data points, the technology and clinical models making it possible, and patient success stories. You will be able to ask questions and walk away with a deeper understanding of this innovative shift in healthcare delivery for long term care professionals.
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the compounding risks of hospitalization for seniors.
Describe no cost strategies for bringing acute care treatments in house, and the benefit to residents.
Identify tools to conduct interviews with potential partners in the delivery of acute and advanced care practices within patient centric environments.