Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/864048
Prevention: A New Focus in Emergency Care W HILE M A N Y MEMBER S of the community rely on the Pomeroy Emergency Services Department, certain patients are receiving special attention for a specific reason: they could benefit from having a primary care physician. Crouse Health Patient Engagement Representative Desiree Odom and Patient Access Representative Janelle Harris work primarily in PromptCare and the emergency department to identify patients who are frequent visitors to each facility. Often, individuals who are not insured or underinsured are unable to connect to primary care resources that are critical for ongoing, overall health. "We try diligently to help patients navigate treatment and preventive care," Odom says. "Our job," Harris adds, "is to help prevent visits to PromptCare or our ER for what should be routine care provided by their own physician." Odom and Harris have been members of the Crouse team for several years. Their work supports the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. DSRIP promotes community collaboration and focus on system reform, specifically a 25 percent reduction in avoidable hospital readmissions over five years. " The biggest difference is when patients first enter, they'll be greeted by a charge nurse and go through triage immediately. I think that is really going to increase patient satisfaction, patient treatment and staff satisfaction, because the patient is going to get to the right place the first time." • BETTY O'CONNOR, RN, CHIEF NURSING OFFICER, CROUSE HEALTH Si nc e mor e t h a n 1 5 0 he a lt hc a r e pr ofe s sion a l s t reat pat ient s i n t he emergency department, the added space and improved layout ma ke it easier for everyone to work. The new design facili- tates the role of care planners and other non-medical support services staŠ, too. " With our new color-coded caregiver stations, a ll members of the ca re tea m, i ncludi ng physicia ns, nurses, socia l workers and care coordinators, are able to collaborate on each patient 's needs in a conveniently located a nd spacious a rea t hat is desig ned to foster g roup discussion," says Bett y O'Connor, R N, Chief Nursing Off icer at Crouse. " This helps us put the patient stor y together qu ick ly a nd pr ov ide t he c a r e he or she needs." ADVANCED CARE, EASILY ACCESSIBLE Patients experiencing stroke or hea r t attack need advanced treatments and rapid care delivery. At Crouse, resources are in place to make both possible. Door- to-balloon times for heart attack patients average 43 minutes, compared to a state average of 57 minutes. In fact, Crouse is the only area hospita l designated as a Mission: Lifeline Gold provider by the American Heart Association for imple- menting specific qua lity improvement measures for the treatment of patients suŠering severe heart attacks. Stroke care is similarly outstanding — Crouse is designated as a Stroke Center by the New York State Depa r tment of Hea lth a nd has received the A merica n H e a r t A s s o c i a t i o n a n d A m e r i c a n Stroke A ssociation's Gold Plus awa rd ever y yea r since 2012. In 2017, Crouse received the Gold Plus Elite desig na- tion from the A H A /A SA for superior stroke ca re. The new desig n on ly en ha nces the excellent ca re provided for stroke a nd heart attack patients, and those benefits begin even before patients enter the hos- pita l. Now, the emergency depa r tment can accommodate multiple ambulances at the sa me time, improv ing ca re for patients a nd providing EMS providers with more rapid turna round time. Crouse Health Patient Engagement Representatives Desiree Odom (left) and Janelle Harris 0 7 M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L N E W Y O R K ■ 2 017