Benefits of Partnering with Kindred
How can you turn your empty beds into income and provide valuable healthcare services to your community? Do you have space on your campus you would like to convert to a useful medical service?
We offer a range of options that can help you get the most out of your hospital’s under-used space, or work with you to develop a freestanding center of excellence designed for medically complex patients who require long recovery times. If you have existing underutilized space of 50,000 square feet or an off-site building, contact us.
The challenges facing short-term acute care providers are numerous and complex. From shortages of discharge options for the medically complex patients to the high costs of long lengths of stay, hospitals today must seek other alternatives to deal with these issues.
See why hospitals across the country are partnering with Kindred Healthcare to make LTAC services available to their patients. As your partner, we provide an established management structure, financial security, aggressive quality initiatives, risk-adjusted outcomes measurement, and a state-of-the-art patient management system. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is an accrediting agency for LTAC hospitals.
Problems Facing Short-Term Acute Care Providers
Shortage of Discharge Options
- BBA effect on SNF and sub-acutes
- Excess bed capacity resulting in opportunity cost
- Financial consequences of long lengths of stay
- High cost of medically complex patients in typical ICU
- High occupancy in ICU resulting in unpredictable closures of emergency room and cancellation of surgery
- Medical staff reluctance to transfer
The Kindred Healthcare Solution
- Partner with Kindred Healthcare in the development of a 30-40 bed long-term acute care (LTAC) hospital.
- Treat patients requiring acute hospitalization on a long-term basis.
- Kindred’s average length of stay was 30 days through December 2005.
- Mix of patients would typically include:
- Medically complex = 60%
- Pulmonary/vent dependent = 35%
- Wound care = 5%
Typical Kindred Free Standing Hospital
- 60-80 beds
- 6-8 ICU, 54-72 med/surg
- On-site labs, with reference lab backup
- On-site radiology departments
- Invasive studies and complex surgery performed at short-term hospital
- Open medical staff, primarily critical care, pulmonary and internal medicine
- Telemetry
Typical Kindred HIH LTAC Hospital
- 30-40 beds
- Kindred nurses and on-site pharmacy
- Respiratory therapists
- Step down telemetry, but usually no ICU
- Contracts with host for lab, radiology, housekeeping, etc.
- Complex diagnostic studies performed at host hospital
- Open medical staff, mostly pulmonary, critical care and internal medicine
Typically Purchased Ancillary Services
- Laboratory/blood bank
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Dialysis
- Emergency coverage
- Spiritual services
- Chaplain services
- Housekeeping/laundry
- Physical plant and engineering
- Safety and security
- Dietary
- Telephones
Patient Selection Criteria
Patients are appropriate for admission to the LTAC if:
- Patient cannot be treated effectively at an alternative lower level of care
- Patients have multiple acute complexities that require daily medical intervention by a physician
- Primary categories of care treated and special areas of care include:
- Complex respiratory conditions such as COPD
- Ventilator weaning
- Complex wound care
- Infectious disease
- Cardiovascular/Peripheral Vascular
- CVA
- Rehab including OT/PT and speech therapy
- TPN
- Dialysis
- Mechanical ventilation
- Tracheostomy care
- Low tolerance rehabilitation with other acute comorbidities
- Other medically complex conditions
Key Clinical Staffing Levels
Nursing and respiratory staffing levels are determined using an acuity-based
system
- Nursing and respiratory care is estimated at 10 - 12 hours per patient day
- Average 1.0+ hour rehab per patient day
- Physical, occupational and speech therapies
- Weekly interdisciplinary patient care conferences coordinate care and review progress toward identified goals
Kindred Healthcare’s Role
As an independent hospital, Kindred assumes full responsibility for overall management of the LTAC including, but not limited to, the following:
- Development of a business plan and financial pro formas
- Implementation of a plan to achieve operating goals
- Management of "day to day" operations
- Educational intervention for patients, families and staff
- Financing of construction and operations
- Obtaining and maintaining licensure and certification
- Implementing independent board of directors
- Medical staff governance and peer review
Kindred Healthcare’s On-Site Team Includes:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Medical Director
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Clinical Officer
- Director of Quality Management/Education
- All staff required to carry out services not provided by contracted services
Physician Involvement
- Medical Director chosen and agreed upon by both parties
- Medical Director supports management in medical administrative leadership
- Weekly participation in interdisciplinary patient-care focused meetings
- Rotation schedule established for unassigned patients
- Daily physician visits
- Physician-driven policies and protocols
Medical Advisory Board
The MAB is comprised of a mix of academic and community physicians who
have active practices in LTAC hospitals. The MAB is a national group of
experienced LTAC physicians with two primary functions. First and foremost,
the members make recommendations on how to communicate medical knowledge
to our LTAC physicians based on current medical literature. Second, they
provide an LTAC physician's perspective to senior management in the development
of hospital policy and programs.
Affiliation with Academic Medical Centers
Medical school faculty attending at Kindred Hospitals:
- Harvard Brigham & Women’s Hospital
- Tufts University
- Rush Medical College, Chicago
- University of Miami
- Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas
- University of Louisville
- Indiana University
- Louisiana State University
- Tulane University
- University of California-Davis
- University of South Florida
- University of Arizona-Tucson
- Medical University of South Carolina
- St. Louis University
- University of Texas-Houston
