Healthcare Headlines Blog

Complex wounds represent a growing challenge to the healthcare community. As patients age and develop an increasing number of comorbidities, including diabetes and obesity, they are more prone to developing wounds and to experiencing longer, more complex recoveries. Chronic wound patients also often experience psychological side effects such as loneliness and depression, which can further impede the healing process and contribute to readmissions. Read Full Post

Kindred Hospitals provide specialized acute care and rehabilitation for medically complex patients leaving the ICU or med-surg unit. Take a look at 5 care initiatives at Kindred that help improve outcomes and reduce readmissions. Read Full Post

Early discharge of respiratory failure patients to Kindred Hospitals can help improve outcomes, decrease inpatient length of stay, and reduce readmissions. Read Full Post

For critically ill patients, timely access to a Kindred specialty hospital, which provides continued acute care and early rehabilitation, can improve patient outcomes. Additionally, because Kindred offers ICU-level care, stable patients can be transferred to a Kindred specialty hospital while they are still in a critical condition, shortening their inpatient lengths of stay and total episodes of care. Read Full Post

Discharge decisions may contribute to the significant healthcare challenges associated with sepsis. Though sepsis patients are often discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), recent data demonstrates that transitioning patients to long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), which provide continued acute care for critically complex patients, can reduce length of stay, readmissions, and overall spending. Read Full Post

Tim came to Kindred Hospital on a ventilator after experiencing respiratory failure. But he had a goal: To recover completely enough to escort his daughter down the aisle and dance with her at her upcoming wedding. With the help of the hospital's interdisciplinary team of caregivers, Tim achieved his goal. Read Full Post

Ensuring that patients leaving the ICU or med/surg unit have access to the most appropriate post-acute care (PAC) setting is a key component of improving outcomes and reducing readmissions. This makes understanding the differences between PAC options essential. Read Full Post

The healthcare industry continues to pilot new ways of delivering care that align patient, provider, and payer incentives. Medically complex patients remain a key population due to higher costs associated with the intensity of treatment and length of recovery time required. The latest innovation in care delivery, an expansion of the accountable care organization (ACO) called ACO REACH, is pushing further into addressing the needs of these patients. Learn more about the program and how long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) can play a role in achieving the goals of the newest model. Read Full Post

Cedar Gate Technologies conducted a review of claims data of ACO beneficiaries treated at LTACHs and SNFs in Las Vegas. They found that Medicare spending and readmission rates were lower for patients who discharged to LTACHs, and lowest for those discharging to Kindred LTACHs specifically. Cedar Gate concluded that LTACHs can deliver efficient and cost-effective care for complex patients. Read Full Post

Medically complex patients tend to experience longer recovery journeys and are more likely to readmit to the ICU after hospitalization. For these patients, it is essential to reduce setbacks and readmissions. Learn about two care coordination strategies that can improve care efficiency and how Kindred Hospitals are taking them a step further. Read Full Post