Developing Transitional Care Program at Valor Health
Valor Health, Emmett, Idaho —Valor Health is pleased to announce the establishment of an enhanced Transitional Care program. Partnered with Allevant Solutions, Valor’s improved program will provide access to high-quality post-acute services in a rural healthcare setting. Allevant Solutions, LLC, developed by Mayo Clinic and Select Medical offers consulting services to rural hospitals and skilled nursing homes.
“Transitional Care is a high quality, evidence-based program for patients who are well enough to leave a traditional hospital setting but still have needs that may not be best met in their homes or in skilled nursing facilities. Some examples of these needs would include frequent intravenous medications, wound care, breathing treatments, nursing assessment and care for multiple medical needs, or intensive physical, occupational, or speech therapy.” said Kathy Prindle, RN Case Manager.
Hospital-based Transitional Care programs offer a number of important advantages over other post-acute options, including increased nurse to patient ratio, strong team culture, the ability to address sudden changes in condition with on-site physicians, radiology, and laboratory, and a patient-centered approach that includes bedside rounds with the care team on a regular schedule. Hospital-based Transitional Care is the ideal setting for patients with complex health conditions and post-acute needs.
Allevant creator and Medical Director and Mayo Clinic pulmonologist, Mark Lindsay, M.D. shared, “By offering these services in rural hospitals, patients and families can get high quality post-acute care close to home. Valor Health has the staff, the facilities, and the commitment to deliver exceptional Transitional Care. We are excited to join Valor on this journey to offer another post-acute care choice to residents of Gem County and the surrounding region.”
Angie Phillips, Medical-Surgical/Transitional Care Nurse Manager says, “The nation’s population is aging, and there will be a growing need for care options for patients with medically complex conditions. These needs are amplified in rural communities. “We are investing in our ability to provide this type of care to both meet the needs of our patients, but also to continue to provide great employment opportunities at Valor Health.”
Jacki Weideman, CNO at Valor Health added, “We want to be the destination of choice for local patients needing this type of care after receiving care at larger facilities in the Treasure Valley, to bring patients back closer to home. We expect that our program will also attract patients from outside our community due to the quality of our program, our team-based care model, and the benefits of our small-town setting. We have choice over how many Transitional Care patients we are able to admit, so enhancing the program will not limit our ability to take care of the everyday needs of our local patients, but will still use our available facility and staff. This is a win for our patients, our employees, and our community.
Valor Health is a county-owned, rural health system in Gem County, Idaho. Valor Health includes a 16-bed critical access hospital, family practice and urgent care clinic, and speciality medicine clinics.