Valley Health has partnered with Connect by National Research Corporation
(NRC) to provide a telephone outreach program for patients who receive
care in the Emergency Departments at Winchester Medical Center, Shenandoah
Memorial Hospital, Warren Memorial Hospital and Page Memorial Hospital.
The program will begin in mid-January.
Before leaving the hospital – whether after a two-hour Emergency
Department visit or a longer inpatient admission -- every patient receives
a discharge plan with written instructions and reminders for follow-up
care in order to continue healing at home.
“We recognize that someone who isn’t feeling 100% may be distracted,
misplace the discharge instructions, or be confused about their meaning
and have questions,” said Carla Dallmann, BSN, MBA, MJ, Valley Health
Vice President, Quality, Safety, Patient Experience and Risk Management.
“One of the most effective ways to assure a patient understands
how to continue their healing at home is to assess their understanding
of the discharge plan with a brief phone call one to three days after
discharge.”
The new “Connect” program uses an automated call with a natural
female voice, plus a pre-recorded message from nursing leadership, to
contact patients within 24-72 hours of leaving the hospital. The calls
last approximately two minutes, and will help the hospital identify any
follow-up care questions or customer service issues the patient may have.
If there are any concerns that need to be addressed, the call will be
forwarded to a live person at Valley Health.
“We’re excited to roll out this new program and want to encourage
patients and their family members to anticipate and participate in the
call,” Dallmann continued. “These are important follow-up
calls which, we hope, will reinforce helpful information and provide a
convenient opportunity for feedback.”
Valley Health expects to expand the program throughout the year to include
patients discharged from other inpatient units.