Northland Hospital Treats Patients with Long-Term Needs
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For patients who have rehabilitation needs exceeding a typical hospital stay, a long-term acute care hospital can be a vital step in restoring good health.
That’s why the spring 2008 opening of Northland Long-Term Acute Care Hospital was welcomed by so many in the health care community.
Prior to that time, local patients went to great lengths to find long-term acute care, says Randy Hamilton, Northland LTAC’s chief executive officer.
“There were almost 250 long-term acute care beds in the metropolitan Kansas City area [prior to 2008], but they were all south of the Missouri River,” he says.
Hamilton, who works for Rehab Care, says this much-needed project is a joint venture between his company, North Kansas City Hospital and Liberty Hospital. The 49,600-square-foot facility is licensed for 35 beds including six “high observation” beds with cardiac monitoring. Four of the six high observation beds also have bariatric ceiling lifts to assist in moving high-risk patients.
The new hospital also features a fully outfitted rehabilitation gym, on-site pharmacy, dietary services and a cafeteria for visitors.
“For the first time these services will be offered in the Northland, and patients can stay close to home and near their family and friends who are so important for healing and recovery,” says David Carpenter, president and CEO of North Kansas City Hospital.
The average stay at an LTAC facility is about a month. Patients, Hamilton explains, are admitted for a variety of reasons that include acute or chronic respiratory disorders, wound care complicated by conditions such as uncontrolled hypertension, or a need for additional neurological care following a stroke or accident.
Hamilton says patients with multi-system failure are especially well served at LTAC hospitals. Such patients may be experiencing a number of health conditions from congestive heart failure to renal disease to uncontrolled diabetes.
“Health care has become more complex, and the distinctive capabilities of this facility will allow us to focus on the special needs of the long-term acute patient,” says Joe Crossett, administrator at Liberty Hospital.
The payoff is enormous both in terms of outcomes and costs. MedPAC, the independent federal agency created to advise the U.S. Congress on issues pertaining to Medicare, has found LTAC patients have shorter inpatient stays, lower outlier costs, fewer skilled nursing admissions and lower hospital re-admission rates.
Clinical staffing at the hospital includes a skilled nursing team, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants, a dietician, a pharmacist, occupational and speech/language therapists and social workers.
Story by Cindy Sanders
Photo by Jesse Knish
