Newman Regional Health: Improving transitions of care, reducing readmissions
Newman Regional Health team members (L to R) Cathy Pimple, Chief Quality and Compliance Officer; Nina Topper, Clinical Analyst; Dr. Alana Longwell, Hospitalist and Inpatient Rehabilitation Medical Director; and Aubrey Arnold, Care Manager.
Although readmission rates were already lower than their target, leadership at Newman Regional Health thought they could further reduce them.
Cathy Pimple is Chief Quality and Compliance Officer at the not-for-profit 25-bed critical access hospital in Emporia, owned by the citizens of Lyon County, Kansas. She said they recognized that those at highest risk for readmission in their community shared something in common.
“We recognized that our high-risk patients were individuals who had multiple chronic illnesses,” Pimple said. “So, in order to better address their needs, we developed an Advanced Illness Management (AIM) program, which was aimed at improving care transitions.”