Presentation by Scott Strassels, PharmD, PhD. A clinical pharmacist with Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, a partner of Kindred  

Medications, while prescribed to promote healing and symptom relief, often have unintended effects that can hinder care goals. All clinicians must be able to recognize medication-related problems and reach out to pharmacists as necessary.

In Scott's presentation, he sought to help the audience understand the roles of pharmacists in pain and palliative practice and understand how analgesics are chosen based on type and severity of pain.

Kindred Healthcare's 2016 Annual Clinical Impact Symposium kicked off on Tuesday, November 8. And in true Kentucky fashion, Steve Buttleman, the official bugler of Churchill Downs, played "My Old Kentucky Home" and the "call to the post" that is most often associated with the Kentucky Derby.

Afterward, Buttleman added, "Use this call-to-the-post to get out of the gates when you get back home like they do at the Derby. How you start the race is often a determination of the final results." 

Kent Wallace, Chief Operating Officer, took the stage to speak about the current state of Kindred. He opened with a slide that answers the question "Who is Kindred" with one sentence:

Kindred is 102,200 dedicated teammates taking care of approximately 1,040,000 patients and residents in more than 2700 locations in 46 states.

In many ways, the number of people Kindred employees care for is the most important number of all, and Wallace paid tribute to all Kindred employees who provide care and touch so many lives every day.

With fall upon us and Halloween fast approaching, we need to be aware of the potential for a number of unique accidents that can require a quick trip to the ER. Yes, it's that time of year when all of the spooks and spirits come out to play. And sometimes they get hurt.

Luckily, in 2015, the most recent revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) was released by the World Health Organization (WHO). The updated lists holds more than 14,000 codes, and 16,000 with optional sub-classifications of diseases, symptoms, complaints and external causes of injury or disease.

We have narrowed this down to the top eight potential codes that our clinicians may need to know during the month of October, particularly on the 31st.

For physicians practicing or anticipating involvement as hospice medical directors, the Hospice Medical Director Manual (HMDM) is the go-to reference. Recently the third edition was released. Not only does it have twice the content of the previous edition, it also has a Kindred touch.

Two Kindred at Home physician leaders contributed to the new edition: Lyla Correoso-Thomas, MD, Kindred at Home Southeast Region National Medical Director is co-editor, and John Manfredonia, DO, Kindred at Home West Region National Medical Director, is also a contributor.

For infection control nurses, the little things make a difference - from the microscopic germs seeking to wreak havoc to the incremental steps taken to prevent or contain them.

That's why Anna Lagahit, a nurse and Infection Control Practitioner at Kindred Hospital Santa Ana, goes out of her way to recognize hospital staff for doing the little things to prevent hospital-acquired infections. Staff might receive a "you made a difference today" card from Anna for something as routine as wiping a patient's table or IV machine, keeping catheter lines off the floor or ensuring the cleanliness of everything from the patient to the bed to the area between the bed and bathroom.

"I am a resource to remind nurses and staff that they are protecting not only the patients but themselves and their families when they go home," she said.

Hospice Care Improves Patient Experience

A new study adds to evidence that hospice care during the last six months of life is associated with better overall experiences for patients and a lower likelihood of dying in a hospital. Read More   

Study Finds Benefits When Seniors Call Shots to Help Them

A federally funded project that researchers say has potential to promote aging in place began by asking low-income seniors with disabilities how their lives at home could be better, according to a study released Wednesday. Read More  

David and his wife, Linducia, were visiting a friend in Las Vegas. When they returned to their hotel she noticed his breathing didn't seem right. This is his story.

"It wasn't long after we got back to our hotel that David began having trouble breathing. I called the front desk and the paramedics arrived very quickly" Linducia said. "He was rushed to the hospital and we later found out it was only a matter of minutes before he would have died from a heart attack. He had emergency heart surgery and had three stents put in. During the surgery he also suffered from three strokes and his doctors had to induce a coma."

After surgery his outlook was very poor. David also began suffering from massive kidney failure and had to have dialysis. "His condition actually worsened" Linducia recalled. "He was on every kind of medication imaginable, completely unconscious and immobile. None of the doctors thought he would survive. Then four weeks into this ordeal I asked his doctors to run an MRI brain scan as he had said that if he was ever brain dead he wouldn't want to 'live' hooked up to a machine."

As clinicians, we go to work every day to provide quality medical care to our patients. And while medical care will always be our number one concern, hospitality is now the second-most important standard in healthcare. The world is evolving, and with it, our hospitals. Many medical facilities are beginning to resemble hotels in varying degrees.

On the surface, and from a business standpoint, it seems simple. Hotel-like amenities can improve health outcomes by reducing stress and cutting down on the transfer of diseases by using private rooms. This patient-centered environment helps patients focus on getting better, which leads to decreased lengths-of-stay and readmissions. 

As clinicians, we think daily about problems and their solutions. If a patient is having trouble breathing, we go through a series of steps to diagnose and treat the problem. If a patient has a wound, we go through the proper steps to clean and heal it. But what happens when the problem is that the patient can't get to you for the right treatment? Again, you find a solution.

When visiting a doctor becomes a transportation hassle, patients begin to miss visits. This leads to untreated symptoms, which are costly for medical institutions losing potential revenue. Currently, if senior patients don't have the ability to drive themselves, they must call upon one of several alternatives: