Many people think that text messaging is the territory of teens, not older Americans, but a California program is challenging that stereotype. Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers in San Diego has seen much success with a texting program aimed at providing support to recently discharged patients, many of them seniors.
What happens when a patient who requires inpatient rehab care refuses transfer due to concerns about pets staying home alone? This complex case addresses the ways a case manager can handle these tricky situations.
Case managers must be positioned (through the organizational structure) and must position themselves (through skills and knowledge) to be an instrumental and influential member of the team to support and monitor the development of a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the patient.
The National Association of Social Workers is speaking out against the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to include a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census, stating that it would deter some from completing the census.
A director working to manage her institution’s length of stay is usually aware of situations that can make a patient stay longer. Among these situations is a patient who is need of guardianship.
Patient care is strengthened by the RN case manager and social work relationship. Social workers should consider patient psychosocial needs alongside the RN case manager’s assessment of the patient’s disease trajectory and recovery requirements.
It’s no secret that social factors can create sizable barriers for case managers who are working to prevent readmissions, plan for discharges, and meet length of stay targets. Unfortunately, government regulators often don’t factor these issues in when they are looking at quality measures. But that is starting to change.
