Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center’s Transitional Care Unit one of Top 20 in state
The Skilled Nursing Facility/Transitional Care Unit at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center has been identified by Humana as one of the Top 20 skilled nursing facilities in the state due to the quality of care it provides while also maintaining a patient’s average length of stay at a low number. A Humana surveyor conducted a site visit of the unit on January 20 to determine its appropriateness of clinical care. Annual evaluations by Humana will be completed in the future.
“We are very pleased that our Skilled Nursing Facility/Transitional Care Unit has been recognized for the quality care that it provides,” said Vicki A. Darnell, president and CEO, Ephraim McDowell Health. “This honor recognizes that our staff is working together to improve our patients’ health status so they can return home as quickly as possible.”
The site visit on January 20 was conducted by Andria Malone, R.N., Humana’s Post-acute Skilled Nursing Facility regional nurse for the East Region, which is comprised of 14 states. During the site visit, Malone reviewed the Transitional Care Unit’s physical appearance as well as overall patient satisfaction scores, clinical performance dashboards and services provided by rehabilitation services staff.
Malone explained that she is conducting site visits at facilities where Humana has existing partnerships or an interest in developing partnerships because of the facility’s patient length of stay and re-admission rates, among other factors. She said Ephraim McDowell’s Transitional Care Unit was selected for a site visit because it is one of the Top 20 in the state and also because the average length of stay is among the lowest, which is desired.
“As a result of the site visits we are conducting, we can identify facilities that are providing the quality of care that we’re looking for to our patients,” Malone said. She added, “We have a shared vision to take patients from a typical hospital unit to a transitional care unit and then to home, all in a matter of a couple of weeks.”
According to Malone, hospitals that are providing the quality care desired by Humana have reduced the re-admission rates of their patients while also providing patients with more knowledge about their disease process so they can take better care of themselves and avoid further hospital admissions.
“We can’t direct patients to a specific facility, but we can find the places that we know take good care of patients,” she said.
Ephraim McDowell’s Transitional Care Unit serves patients who have been hospitalized for at least three days because of an illness or injury and who have recovered but aren’t able to care for themselves at home. Patients typically stay on the unit less than 10 days.