SNFs "Risky? Irrelevant?" We Have a Long Way to Go
Posted by Jennifer Clement on Wed, Oct 05, 2011
We woke up to the headline in McKnight’s LTC News “Medicare beneficiaries who are hospitalized for acute-care treatment, including a stroke or hip fracture, are at an ‘extremely high risk’ for needing long-term care in a nursing home, a new study finds...” It’s disheartening how the University of TX positions a SNF stay as risky. And if that wasn’t deflating enough, a doc in the article dismisses the role of SNFs altogether and summarizes “there simply isn't a clear path to get the patient back home.”
I’m sure for many in the industry, this elevated blood pressures. Before we get started with a response, let’s take McKnights off the table – we applaud them for doing a wonderful job of covering all sides of an issue – this one is no exception. We also applaud the efforts of AHCA, Leading Age, and State Associations nationwide to change perceptions, and widely publish the success of SNFs and others in post-acute care to ease continuity of care, drive quality, and speed the transition from hospital to home. While Association efforts offer air cover, their messages have yet to resonate with the general public and the physicians that serve them. So more is needed: in our communities, in our neighborhoods, in our rehab units. The article offered cause for pause, and a call to action at the grass roots level.
Imagine the day when our society values the continuity of care, and the role SNFs have in it. With open arms SNFs take fragile patients, offer the best care possible, at far lower cost than their acute care counterparts– while preventing a readmission to higher cost venues like hospitals. Imagine the day when our society understands the value and power of rehab, to gently build strength before sending patients home. The opportunity lies in the SNF’s ability to market one thing well at the grassroots level: HOPE.
I have yet to encounter an elder who enjoys the hospital, and would not rather be home. It will be a great day when society realizes that the SNF is the best bet and best hope for a speedy transition home – just the right mix of skilled care giving, motivation building, independence boosting, and emotional nurturing on their journey toward health and wellness at home. And all of this without a repeat visit to the hospital. With too quick a push from hospital to home, the bounce backs, studies are showing, are costing society precious healthcare dollars and erosion of hope. For millions of our elders, the care they receive in a SNF is exactly the venue they need to transition them from hospital to home. Following a stroke or a hip replacement, home can be a scary place with stairs, a lack of adaptive equipment, slippery floors, and many more hazards that a frail patient on medications is not ready to navigate. Under the watchful eyes and hands of caregivers in the SNF, they most importantly get the attention they need and early intervention before a secondary crisis occurs that puts them back in the hospital – exactly what CMS is trying to avoid these days.
What’s obvious as an industry is we have a long way to go from a marketing and positioning standpoint. The fact that a major institution considers a SNF stay risky is really troublesome as the country wrestles with ways of reforming healthcare. Hope is the answer, and it starts with each of us positioning the warmth, the hope, and the value of the hands-on care we provide daily.