Kissito Healthcare Welcomes International Director

We just love to hire people, and we do it well. This new hire is very near and dear to our hearts. We want to welcome our first ever Executive Director of Kissito International, Elizabeth Parsons. This is BIG! This means that we have grown to the point where our international efforts need full time key leadership. Elizabeth is going to transform the way we develop and fund projects through out the world. Before I could even publish this announcement post she has sent our CEO to do a ground breaking of our new hospital in Ethiopia. She organized half of the executive team and whisked them off to Haiti to train the Haitian people devastated by the recent earthquakes, how to care for their displaced geriatric population; and I hear a multi-media website is to be launched on June 28th highlighting all our international work and projects. So suffice to say we have hired a another good one to propel our mission beyond our borders. Hang on a second, the news media is calling. “Yes, okay, oh you want Elizabeth Parsons. I’ll transfer you.” Now add to the list international media tour. So who is this international champion of the people? Glad you asked….

Elizabeth Parsons, Director, Global Projects

 Elizabeth’s role at Kissito International is a natural extension of a lifelong commitment to building relationships and bridging cultures. For Kissito International, Elizabeth oversees resource development, operations and most everything in between.   Her goal is to identify and extend Kissito’s reach to populations others may have overlooked—from the elderly of post-quake Haiti to the agrarian peoples of Western Ethiopia, for whom the World Health Organization estimates only one doctor serves every 35,000 individuals.  Elizabeth holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, a Master’s degree in Writing and has lent her communications and management skills to organizations as diverse as the Grammy Awards and the Office of Human Rights in Ambato, Ecuador. She is also a widely published writer and journalist.

Hospitals and Drug Makers Nothing to Fear?

I came across an interesting article in the NYT that actually said “Hospitals, Drug Makers, and Physicians have nothing to fear [about healthcare reform]” The claim by analysts is that all the soon to be newly insured patients are being treated for free by hospitals. With the new reform a lot of the uninsured will either opt for Medicaid or a national plan providing the hospital with a payer source they right now do not have for these patients. But isn’t this just the beginning? In order to cut healthcare costs the CBO has clearly made it’s point that ACO’s and bundled payments (which hurt hospital revenue by not paying for readmitted patients within 30 days) is really the only way to see healthcare costs cut at the level they need to be cut to stop the bleeding. So is having more Medicaid and insured patients really of benefit to the hospitals? I guess we’ll see what the trade-off is soon enough.

The article then went on to say that physicians would benefit because all the newly insured patients would need physician services. I agree. I think the physicians will probably be okay. I have spoken to about 20 physicians in the last 2 months and asked them if they were feeling secure. The response was overwhelmingly no. The physicians I have spoken with say until Congress takes the cuts proposed for physicians under Medicare off the table, no physician is going to sleep easy. I have seen first hand over the last year more and more physicians banding together, expanding and diversifying their practices and business models to offset any kind of future cuts.

The third group that was supposed to see the most downside may not be seeing any at all according to the NYT article. Pharmaceutical drug makers stand to gain significantly from 32 million newly insured patients. Of course they do, that’s 32 million more patients seeing physicians to write 10’s of billions of dollars worth of new prescriptions. The drug makers may just be the biggest proponents and winners of them all! Certainly ironic since they were supposed to see the most downside from new reform.

One thing is for certain, healthcare reform even though passed, is uncertain. But it’s getting to be an exciting ride.

Please see link below for the article this post is making reference to:

In HealthReform, Boons for Hospitals and Drug Makers-NYT

What do Nike, CHF, and i-phones have in common?

They all play a role in creating a data driven health revolution projected to lower hospital re-admissions and lower costs. Eric Topol addresses the wireless healthcare frontier at TEDmed 2009.

Collaboration- there’s that word again!

Fast Company just released their top innovative companies of the year. #17 was Cisco Systems or should I say Cisco Systems + Collaborations. There is that word again. Collaboration will be the platform, the only platform that will successfully transform healthcare as we see it today. At Kissito Healthcare collaboration seems to be at our core these days. Imagine the collaborative possibilities in the post acute setting alone given Cisco’s current advances.

March 2010- fastcompany.com ( Cisco Systems #17 )

On November 9 of last year, Cisco Systems introduced an unheard-of 61 new technologies, all focused on collaboration. Tony Bates, the SVP behind them, says collaboration is a $34 billion market, and “by far the most exciting thing we’re working on. The world is bigger than an office and a bunch of cubes.” Among the new offerings: a social video system called Cisco Show and Share (YouTube for your office); Collaboration in Motion (WebEx for your iPhone); and, coming next year, the Cisco Enterprise Collaboration Platform (Facebook/Twitter meets WebEx for your business), which will help far-flung employees share a chat window, videos, wikis, docs, even a company-wide news feed. No longer content to be a plumber, Cisco is focusing on the network as the basis for innovation, which is bringing the company into closer competition with the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Tune in next year to see how that’s going.–end

1. Telemedicine- physicians consulting patients using secure video/web cam capabilities, physicians can see more patients.

2. Electronic Medical Records- integrated between acute and post acute settings (A Kissito currrent project)

3. Chat, video, wikis – nationwide access between facilities to assist in a diagnoses, patient/customer service recovery, archiving of best practices, etc…

4. Smart phone monitoring- physicians using smart phones to monitor vitals in real-time.

These are just a few off the top of my head. What are the possible collaborations you envision?

Leave us some comments.

Fifteen states may sue over healthcare reform

Reverse Your Outlook On Healthcare

A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward. This video reads the exact opposite backwards as forward. Not only does it read the opposite, the meaning is the exact opposite. This is only a 1 minute, 44 second video and it is brilliant. Make sure you read as well as listen…forward and backward.

This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20-year old. The contest was titled “u @ 50″ by AARP. This video won second place. When they showed it, everyone in the room was awe-struck and broke into spontaneous applause. So simple and yet so brilliant. Take a minute and watch it. Then apply the concept to healthcare reform? Enjoy!

Kissito Healthcare Mentioned in White Paper Regarding Bundled Payments

While bundled payments is not a new concept in the discussion of healthcare reform, it found its way back to the front burner in December 2008 when the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) proposed new ways to reduce federal healthcare spending to the House and the Senate.

Introduced nearly 30 years ago, bundled payments would essentially provide one payment to Acute Care Hospitals (ACHs) for both acute and post acute services and allow the ACH to determine the amount of post acute care a patient needs and the most cost effective care provider. Under this scenario, the CBO estimates a $0.7 billion reduction in federal outlays between 2010 and 2014 and by 2019 they estimate a reduction of almost $19 billion.

The reintroduction of the concept raises many questions for ACHs, long term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) and how they will be reimbursed for treating Medicare recipients. Also questioning this potential manner of reform are the lawmakers.

In a recent white paper entitled “To Bundle or Not To Bundle: Lawmakers Explore the Question,” released by three attorneys at McGuire Woods, LLP, Jason S. Greis, R. Brent Rawlings, and J. Brian Jackson explore the questions that the implementation of bundled payments raise. The three comprehensively explain the concept, its history, and how it would affect the various types of acute and post acute facilities from the time of implementation through 2019 when the reform measure will reach the outcome envisioned by the CBO.

They further investigate the questions industry leaders are raising, the pros and cons of the option and what companies are doing now in preparation for the proposed legislation. An interview with Tom Clarke, President & CEO of Kissito Healthcare resulted in the explanation that “[s]ome organizations have already begun planning for the bundling trend by creating integrated post-acute care and senior living campuses with a full array or long-term care services, or by developing post-acute care facilities capable of catering to more acutely ill patients in more cost-effective settings.” Kissito Post Acute is one of said organizations in that its “SNF facilities provide ventilator weaning programs, which are commonly found in LTACHs, while achieving comparable clinical outcomes and Medicare costs savings.”

Kissito Post Acute, a division of Kissito Healthcare, prides itself on remaining patient-centered and physician-driven. Existing for the care and betterment of human life, Kissito Post Acute realizes the current paths patients take from hospital to home and redefines that, attempting to eliminate many of the unnecessary trips to various types of facilities. Their Collaborative Patient Care Model™ fosters the best environment for successful outcomes. This unique, industry-leading approach involves partners in a cohesive team that enables patients to return to their lives and function at the highest level.

Yuma, Arizona

Palm View located in Yuma, AZ is a 143-bed facility offering rehabilitative therapy and long term services for residents with moderate to complex medical conditions, and a secured unit for Alzheimer’s care for residents with dementia.

• Private and semi-private rooms

• Medical Rehabilitation services include Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy

• Medically Complex Patient Case Mix

• Physician Driven, Patient Centered Post Acute Model producing improved quality outcomes

• Electronic Medical Record with remote access for physicians

• Empowering patient and family education program

• Aggressive post acute return to home program

• Quality long term care services

• Secure Alzheimer-Dementia Unit

• Memory Care Programming

Accolades
Arizona Health Care Association Certified Nursing Assistant of the Year 2008 — Co winner of statewide award.

National Association of Healthcare Assistants Best Attitude Award 2008 — Recognized for Employee of the Year.

Arizona Department of Health Services — Ranked “Excellent” on the Quality Performance Scale with a score of 100% across all categories.

Employer of the Year 2006 — Award for excellence by Yuma County.

Contact Info:
Kissito Healthcare Palm View
2222 South Avenue A
Yuma, AZ 85364
928.783.8831
kissitohealthcarepalmview.org

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Professionals That Make a Difference

Kissito Post Acute Announces Interior Design Contest Winners

Kissito Post Acute Cane Island is pleased to announce the official winners of the Kissito Post Acute Cane Island Interior Design Contest.  Tatiana Escallon and Ernesto Sanz, both of Houston, Texas competed against and rose above nine other design teams to be named the victor.  Contestants were asked to attend a short brief and tour Kissito Post Acute Cane Island prior to submitting a creative proposal on their plans to transform the private rehabilitation suites from their current nursing home feel to that of a hotel.

The Kissito Post Acute Cane Island Design Contest presented three challenges to the contestants, the first to creatively utilize the existing furniture within the suites while creating a more contemporary look and feel.  Contestants were also challenged to increase the functionality of the suites and determine how to accomplish these feats on a dime’s budget.

Contestants ranged from hobbyists to twenty-five-year veterans of hotel interior design to graphic design students but Tatiana and Ernesto’s design was superbly simple and exactly what Kissito Post Acute Cane Island had in mind.  Tatiana is a stay at home mother and an interior designer by trade while Ernesto is an architect who was part of recent cutbacks by a multifamily design firm.

Tatiana and Ernesto have been contracted to carry out their design across all the rooms at Kissito Post Acute Cane Island and began on Wednesday, May 20th with suite 105.  Both arrived bright and early, smiles on their faces, and began painting, installing new hardware and stenciling the borders of the suites.  Stay tuned for pictures of the newly designed room 105.

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