Electronic Health Reporter

Nexus Health Resources has announced the expansion of its transitional care services for patients at Orange Regional Medical Center (ORMC). Nexus Health, a care management company, has reduced readmission rates by 30 percent since the company began working with ORMC in January 2014.

Nexus Health currently provides services to ORMC to ensure that discharged Medicare patients who are recovering from congestive heart failure and pneumonia are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital. This service helps set patients up on the road to recovery and also prevents unnecessary readmissions, which are costly for hospitals and can lead to Medicare and commercial insurance penalties. Now, Nexus Health is working with ORMC to extend its services to patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD.)

“Nexus Health values patient education and believes that – when coupled with a strong care transition program and good understanding of health care navigation  — it is an extremely effective way to help reduce readmission rates,” said Virginia Feldman, President and CEO of Nexus Health Resources. “Working with a patient to help them understand their disease symptoms, medication instructions, and the proper time to notify their primary care physician can result in lowered readmissions.”

Currently, COPD is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind cancer and heart disease, according to the American Lung Association. In the most recent study, the American Lung Association also states that 12.7 million adults in the US are diagnosed with COPD and close to 24 million are under diagnosed with the disease.

“Nexus Health has provided ORMC and our patients with dynamic results – along with high-quality transitional care management and coordination,” said Rose Baczewski, Vice President, Patient Safety, Quality & Health Information Management for ORMC, parent company Greater Hudson Valley Health System. “This success helped to shape ORMC’s decision in expanding Nexus Health’s scope of work to discharged patients with COPD.”

Nexus Health Care Coordinators engage patients and their families during hospitalization, collaborate with the hospital’s discharge staff, and then provide the support network they need during the critical 30-day post-hospitalization period. Care coordinators perform vital tasks for patients, such as clinical teach back, scheduling follow-up physician appointments, ensuring delivery of any necessary medical equipment, facilitating delivery of medications to bedside, and providing a recording of care instructions, which patients can access after discharge.

For additional information please visit www.nexushealthresources.com.

About Nexus Health Resources:

Nexus Health Resources – a care management company offering a comprehensive solution focused on coordination of care and care transitions – assists hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in the reduction of avoidable hospital readmissions.  Nexus Health has a proven readmission reduction rate of 30%, achieved in conjunction with NexusConnexions™ software and data analysis. These tools provide the support care coordinators need in bridging the gaps between existing healthcare providers, patients, facilities, and services, and ensuring patients have a successful transition from hospital to home.

About Orange Regional Medical Center:

Orange Regional Medical Center (ORMC), is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, formed by the merger of Arden Hill Hospital and Horton Medical Center. Orange Regional boasts seven floors of state-of-the-art technology, provides 353 private patient rooms, and employs over 2,400 healthcare professionals. More than 600 doctors have privileges at the hospital and treat thousands of area residents.