When patients receive a difficult diagnosis, they often ask “Why?” It’s during these times that our spiritual care services play a critical role in providing quality care at the hospital.
Tag: care
Understanding Hospice Care
November is National Hospice & Palliative Care Month. Regina Bodnar, executive director of Carroll Hospice, answers some frequently asked questions about hospice care.
Caring for an Aging Parent
Many challenges arise when it comes to caring for an aging parent, but thankfully you are not alone. Your parent’s primary care provider is your main ally—the coach shouting from the sidelines, ensuring everyone on your team is doing what they are supposed to do.
The Role of Hospitalists and Intensivists
With the need for more specialized and coordinated care for hospitalized patients today, hospitalists and intensivists are changing the way patients are cared for in the hospital setting. Mark Olszyk, M.D., vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer, explains how these providers coordinate your care at the hospital.
The Family Birthplace Expansion
When Deanna Dobry went to Carroll Hospital for a routine test one Friday afternoon, she had no idea she wouldn’t be going home that day.
Supporting the Family in the Last Days of Life
The simple gestures are the ones that Chris Krebs still remembers. The back rubs and gentle words from Carroll Hospice’s staff as they positioned her mother each hour. The Big Band CDs at Dove House that she was able to play for her father. The respite care that allowed her to recharge and sleep in her own bed.
Introducing Care Solutions
Melissa Jones-Holley, D.N.P., director of disease management and population health at Carroll Hospital, explains a new program designed to help patients living with chronic conditions.
What is the Care Solutions program? Why was it created?
Care Solutions is a disease management program that provides patients, health care providers and the community with resources to assist in the care of patients with chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the program is to improve the patients’ quality of life and reduce unnecessary hospital stays through a series of coordinated health care interventions, such as education about their conditions and how to manage them, care coordination and improved access to care.
How do patients benefit?
Care Solutions offers patients an individualized care plan while working in collaboration with their health care providers.
As a part of the program, patients can receive follow-up care once discharged from the hospital, assistance with scheduling provider visits, education on their conditions, and assistance with understanding and managing their treatment plans including medications, referrals to health care and community resources, and telemonitoring services if needed.
Who is eligible for Care Solutions?
The Care Solutions program is available to patients with chronic conditions such as CHF, COPD and diabetes. Many patients are referred to our program from providers, case managers, nurse health navigators and community agencies, such as home health agencies and Access Carroll.
How is telemonitoring used?
Telemonitoring is one of the ways the Care Solutions program is helping patients understand and manage their chronic conditions at home. We are currently offering patients with CHF and COPD a chronic care management program that includes telemonitoring services. In this program, patients are provided with Bluetooth-enabled equipment that allows patients to obtain and record their vital signs each day, such as blood pressure, heart rate, oxygenation and weight, for use in their home. With this program, we are able to quickly identify and address abnormal patient vital signs and connect patients with a nurse or health care provider 24/7 for early intervention as needed. Patients who could benefit from telemonitoring are being recommended to the program during a hospital stay or by their primary care provider, cardiologist or pulmonologist.
Learn more about the Care Solutions program by calling 410-871-7000.
Celebrating Our Doctors
Congratulations to James Clement, M.D., named Carroll Hospital’s 2017 Physician of the Year!
Inside Carroll Hospital: Vision 2020 Update
In 2013, Carroll Hospital unveiled Vision 2020, a seven-year strategy to create a new model of care: one that focuses not only on delivering exceptional care for the sick, but also on helping community members get healthy and stay well. Now three years into the ambitious plan, we sat down with Helen W. Whitehead, chair of the hospital’s board of directors, to see how Carroll Hospital is transforming that Vision into a reality.
Honoring a Job Well Done
Did you know there are several ways to honor an Associate or physician who has gone above and beyond in the service he or she has provided?