Patient Care is a Team Effort at Kindred Hospital Melbourne
At Kindred Hospital Melbourne, an interdisciplinary team works closely with each patient and his or her family and primary care provider to manage care and make the best choice possible when it comes time for the patient to move to the next care setting. Through family meetings and interdisciplinary team meetings, the group gets to know each patient and his or her needs, and prepares patients for the transition of care at the end of their stay, whether they are going home or to another level of inpatient care.
That “family” environment makes family meetings a logical and important component of patient care.
“I believe you can never have too many family meetings,” said Cindi. “The meetings help the team gauge the level of support the patient has, and what other factors may be at play that can affect his or her recovery.”
The meetings are held at the bedside of the patient who is able to participate, and if not, the group may convene in another comfortable setting within the facility.
Interdisciplinary team meetings, held weekly, are also crucial. The team – which includes nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, dietitians, wound care providers, occupational and physical therapists and case managers — gets together and goes through each and every patient one by one, discussing their needs and having conversations about how an issue in one area might affect another.
A close working relationship with the patient’s primary care provider (PCP) is critical to deciding on the best next setting for the patient, and to ensuring continuity of care throughout the health care continuum, since the patient will eventually land back in the hands of his or her PCP, said Cindi.
“The PCPs know the patients well, and with so many options in our area for skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation and home health, a thorough understanding of the patient’s needs and what setting is best suited to meet those needs is that much more important,” she said.
If patients are being discharged home, caregivers receive education about how to take care of their loved one and what to expect when they get home. This might include wound care tutorials and for more complex patients, such as those going home on a ventilator, the caregivers are asked to spend the night at the facility and administer total care, using the staff as back-up only. This gives the caregiver a true sense of what it will be like when they bring their loved one home.
Kindred Hospital Melbourne is a transitional care hospital, licensed as an acute care hospital and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a long-term acute care hospital. It offers a full range of services for medically complex patients needing an extended stay in an acute care hospital. Kindred Hospital Melbourne is part of Kindred Healthcare, one of Fortune magazine’s most admired healthcare companies.
The facility participates in the Community Blueprint Project and is a member of the Military Affairs Council, working to find new, innovative ways to support the military by providing care to veterans when appropriate and working with Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics to troubleshoot patients’ challenges and remove roadblocks to achieving the best outcomes possible.
To learn more about Kindred Hospital Melbourne visit KHMelbourne.com or call (321) 733-5725
