MIAMI, Florida - Plaza Health Network (PHN) and Jackson Health System have collaborated to provide clinically complex patients with an option for sub-acute care recovery. PHN’s seven skilled nursing facilities – Arch Plaza, Aventura Plaza, Jackson Plaza, Ponce Plaza, Sinai Plaza, South Pointe Plaza and University Plaza can all receive and treat clinically complex patients as part of this arrangement.
Patients who require extra care and observation but do not have to be in a hospital setting can continue their recovery at one of Plaza Health Network’s seven rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities. The relationship commenced between Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH) and The Miami Transplant Institute (MTI) with Plaza Health Network’s two facilities in the Miami Health District, University Plaza and Jackson Plaza. These two facilities are in close proximity to the hospitals, providing JMH and MTI doctors and nurses ease of visitation if necessary to monitor their patients. Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients are among the first to benefit from this unique arrangement. Staff from MTI has helped to provide enhanced training to staff at Plaza Health Network centers in an effort to deliver specialized care for LVAD patients.
“Being able to successfully provide complex care for patients speaks to the higher level of training that our nurses possess,” said Dr. Ann-Lynn Denker, Plaza Health Network’s chief clinical officer. “In our environment, these patients receive the necessary rehabilitation and restorative nursing care that ultimately speeds up recovery.”
A team of PHN nurse practitioners and nurse navigators visit qualifying patients to assess their conditions and meet with their families in order to agree to implement the transfer. This personalized level of service allows both patients and their families to become more engaged in the recovery process.
Plaza Health Network provides ease in continuity of care by being equipped with all the necessary technology and equipment to treat these patients, including a telehealth program that provides rapid, real-time remote monitoring of patients. This innovative technology allows patients to receive collaborative virtual care from their team of doctors, nurses and medical specialists resulting in quicker evaluations, enhanced outcomes, and reduced hospital readmissions.
In addition to the benefits patients will receive, this arrangement also provides a tremendous cost savings to the hospitals, insurers and patients as the average cost per day to stay in a hospital can exceed $2,000, which is substantially higher than the cost at a skilled nursing facility. At any given time, there may be more than 100 patients in the hospital that just require observation but not necessarily a high level of acuity care, yet have nowhere else to go to resume their care due to placement or funding issues. This initiative will now allow for hospital beds to be released and become available for other sicker patients who require a more intensive level of care.
“We have been aggressive and focused on recognizing the changes in the health care sector,” said Elaine Bloom, president and CEO of Plaza Health Network. “By proactively responding to the need for higher levels of sub-acute care, Plaza Health Network has been able to establish this strategic collaboration with Jackson Health System and the Miami Transplant Institute with the goal of getting patients back to their normal daily living activities at an optimal level of health.”
For more information, visit www.plazahealth.org
