More Health Care So You Need Less Sick Care
By: Licensed Practical Nurses Jessica Jacobi and Mary Hellbusch
Across the country, there is a shift from focusing on sickness to health. Patients are used to going to the doctor when they are sick. The shift is in getting patients to the doctor for checkups so they don’t get sick in the first place.
As Nurse Navigators at Boone County Health Center (BCHC), our job is to find ways we can teach and empower our patients, so they can take better care of themselves and stay healthy with:
Medicare Wellness Visits. We want patients to get the most from their Medicare, and Medicare Wellness Visits are one benefit that can really help keep them from getting sick.
Positives that have come from Medicare Wellness Visits so far, just to name a few, are finding memory issues earlier; having the chance to tell patients what an Advanced Directive is and find out what they want for themselves; and, if a patient has an Advanced Directive, making sure it’s in their chart.
Transitional Care Management. For all Medicare patients who are released from the hospital, we offer extra help. We make sure they are scheduled to see their Primary Care Provider (PCP) within 7 to 14 days of being released from the hospital, have picked up any new medicines, and understand what they were taught when they left the hospital. Patients like our helpful phone calls.
We also work with patients to find other struggles that might stop them from staying healthy. If there are issues, we can help patients find ways to overcome them. In doing this, we can prevent readmissions to the hospital and help keep our patients in their home as long as possible.
Emergency Room (ER) Follow Up. All patients who are seen in the ER get a call from us, if they were not admitted to the hospital or transferred. When we call, we make sure any new medicines were picked up, help them figure out if they need a follow up visit, and let them know the clinic hours and what the ER is best used for.
These are just a few of the many ways we offer our patients extra help. We want our patients to live healthy, happy lives they love. By going the extra mile, we hope to offer more health care so our patients need less sick care.