While there can be a divide between what matters to the average American and what matters to politicians, in recent years, healthcare has been on the minds of both. Ray Sierpina, Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs for Kindred Healthcare, said the 2016 presidential race will continue the ongoing discussion about healthcare and healthcare reform. He added, though, that although 10,000 Baby boomers qualify for Medicare every day, candidates have yet to have a meaningful conversation about the future healthcare needs of this constituency.

Sierpina also noted the 2016 field is one of the most diverse - racially, culturally, geographically and economically - for both the Democrats and Republicans. He cited self-described democratic-socialist Bernie Sanders and real estate developer/reality TV star Donald Trump as noted examples from both sides. 

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Two years ago, after the close of the 2013 Clinical Impact Symposium, the clinicians from Kindred's Dallas/Fort Worth Integrated Care Market returned home with the intent to delve further into deep training on cognitive care. They pulled together clinicians from all over their market and decided where to start - developing a training program that was workable within the hospital environment.

 

The team, headed by Jane Dailey, Vice President of Clinical Operations for the hospital division in the east and southeast regions, piloted the program and studied the results. Initially, the plan was to integrate the program into the hospital division's new cognitive care training program before it was spread out into the other fields. 

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Imagine a world where a patient is able to access pre acute care rather than just post acute care; a world where there is a more central role for post acute care. At the end of the 2015 Clinical Impact Symposium's second full day, the clinicians were treated to a dinner where William Altman, Executive Vice President for Strategy, Policy and Integrated Care provided insights into Kindred's current position in the world, as well as where we are headed.

Altman spoke to how we, as a company, are figuring out how to reposition ourselves in this new world, where healthcare is patient-centric.

"I don't know what is going to happen," Altman said. "But I do know that our country has reached a tipping point when it comes to integrated care."

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The assignment in the medical management breakout session Wednesday seemed straightforward: Review information on a patient's medications, create a Medication Action Plan to identify any potential issues and place the patient's daily medications in a pill organizer divided into days of the week. 

No problem for an audience filled with nurses, physicians, pharmacists and other clinicians, right?

The reality was somewhat different, but the big payoff was in a deeper understanding (and appreciation) of the medication management challenges faced every day by healthcare providers across the Kindred continuum and the opportunity to brainstorm on how to better address those challenges. 

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There's possibly no better way to bring the patient experience into focus than to spotlight the person behind every role - whether you're the patient, a family member, a healthcare provider or other staff member.

Dr. Sumita Khatri opened her presentation at the Kindred Clinical Impact Symposium with a powerful video from Cleveland Clinic, where she is co-director of the Asthma Center. The video, Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care , opens with a quote from Henry David Thoreau: "Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?"

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Throughout the seventh annual Kindred Clinical Impact Symposium, Kindred's clinical leaders have come back to the fictional case study of Jack and Mary Marton, a couple in their late seventies facing a bevy of medical conditions and issues as they struggle to remain independent. The Martons and their health issues have played a role in Clinical Impact Symposiums past, as well, and their example is useful in helping participants brainstorm and learn about how to better handle some of the common problems patients like the Martons face.

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It's quite common for older adults to experience falls or to limit their activities because they are afraid of falling, but we shouldn't just accept falling as a normal part of aging, according to Jane Painter-Patton, Ed.D, a professor at East Carolina University's College of Allied Health Sciences in the Occupational Therapy Department.

In her presentation Wednesday at the Kindred 2015 Clinical Impact Symposium, Painter-Patton gave tips to clinicians and encouraged them to work as a team with other specialists as they deal with the complex issues relating to falls in older adults.

Despite addressing large audiences, both Painter-Patton's presentation and the reaction panel discussion that followed felt very much like advice one clinician might give to a colleague, one-on-one. The participants weren't just speaking at the audience or discussing abstracts, they were speaking directly to every clinician in the room, giving practical, actionable advice that could be implemented successfully in the real world. 

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Designated as a national holiday after the end of World War I, Veterans Day was first celebrated in 1918 as a way to recognize veterans and honor their patriotism. As a healthcare provider, this day is especially significant to us, because so many of the people we care for are veterans or are connected to veterans in some way. Because of this special connection, Kindred makes a point to honor veterans in multiple ways, not just on Veterans Day, but all throughout the year.

Gulf War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Bryan Anderson was a guest speaker at our Support Center Veterans Day ceremony. Following that event, a group of veterans were able to join us for an extended presentation by Anderson during which he shared more details about his service, his experiences as a combat-injured veteran and his work with USA Cares, a national charitable organization that addresses the critical and unmet needs of post-9/11 veterans and military families.

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Participants at Kindred's seventh annual Clinical Impact Symposium heard about how the Marketing and Communications team supports the important work that Kindred clinicians do every day to take care of patients across the country. The team, led by Susan Moss, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, runs programs in the areas of physician outreach, social media and reputation management, and consumer outreach. The programs have made a significant impact on the way people - from referral sources, potential patients and their families, employees and the general public - view Kindred and understand what services it offers.

Physician outreach programs allow us to reach doctors with whom we do not have a relationship by offering information they can use such as white papers and facts about transitional care.

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The Centers for Disease Control reports that "every 20 minutes an older adult dies from a fall in the U.S."

Combine that eye-opening statistic with the reality of an aging U.S. population and the fact that the rate of falls increases with age and it's clear why the 2015 Kindred Clinical Impact Symposium is focused squarely on fall prevention.

Speaker Leslie Allison, PT, PhD, an associate professor at Winston-Salem State University, says one of her friends, a geriatrician, calls the upcoming anticipated surge of falls the Silver Tsunami.

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