Other healthcare providers are part of the interprofessional healthcare team that takes part in creating a wholesome care plan. Communication among all healthcare providers is essential to provide the best care possible for the patients. Upon arriving at Wesley Place, if the patient does not already have a physician of their own they are assigned a physician to oversee their care. Nurses check vitals, administer medications, and check for changes in symptoms. The OT’s and SLP’s help to provide stroke rehabilitation and work with patients on activities of daily living and cognitive decline. CNA’s are a huge help for transfers, taking vitals, and cleaning the patients’ rooms. When meeting with the PT at Wesley Place she mentioned that a good
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Another larger determinant of quality of care in this setting is reimbursement. The classification system known as Resource Utilization Groups (RUGS) help to assign the number of minutes of treatment a patient receives per week which in turn determines the amount of reimbursement the facility receives. PT’s usually assign patients under the Ultra High category of the RUG scale because this allows for maximal reimbursement. Ultra High is defined at 600-650 minutes of physical therapy per week. Healthy, orthopedic patients often tolerate the Ultra High number of minutes fairly well, while long-term rehabilitation patients may only tolerate moderate levels of treatment …show more content…
The clinic rarely has allotted funds that go towards purchasing new equipment and resources for the therapeutic services. Equipment like walking bars, weights, resistance bands, and treadmills help patients receive a more optimal treatment, but with limited funds these are not always available. The therapists often have to be creative and utilize equipment the patients may already have at home. There is a strong emphasis at Wesley Place on maintaining an APTA membership to have access to online journals and research that the SNF cannot provide. An APTA membership also opens up options for continuing education. Overall, resources for physical therapists at Wesley Place are limited but ultimately the PT deliver quality care with what they have.
In conclusion, our field experience has taught us the importance of intensive interdisciplinary care required for a patient at a SNF. We have come to understand that strong communication among therapy services and other healthcare providers is key for quality patient outcomes. Although high employment turnover rates, reimbursement issues, and a shortage of resources are common in SNF’s, the therapists at Wesley Place enjoy working with their patients and patients are in turn highly satisfied with the care and treatment they
Another larger determinant of quality of care in this setting is reimbursement. The classification system known as Resource Utilization Groups (RUGS) help to assign the number of minutes of treatment a patient receives per week which in turn determines the amount of reimbursement the facility receives. PT’s usually assign patients under the Ultra High category of the RUG scale because this allows for maximal reimbursement. Ultra High is defined at 600-650 minutes of physical therapy per week. Healthy, orthopedic patients often tolerate the Ultra High number of minutes fairly well, while long-term rehabilitation patients may only tolerate moderate levels of treatment …show more content…
The clinic rarely has allotted funds that go towards purchasing new equipment and resources for the therapeutic services. Equipment like walking bars, weights, resistance bands, and treadmills help patients receive a more optimal treatment, but with limited funds these are not always available. The therapists often have to be creative and utilize equipment the patients may already have at home. There is a strong emphasis at Wesley Place on maintaining an APTA membership to have access to online journals and research that the SNF cannot provide. An APTA membership also opens up options for continuing education. Overall, resources for physical therapists at Wesley Place are limited but ultimately the PT deliver quality care with what they have.
In conclusion, our field experience has taught us the importance of intensive interdisciplinary care required for a patient at a SNF. We have come to understand that strong communication among therapy services and other healthcare providers is key for quality patient outcomes. Although high employment turnover rates, reimbursement issues, and a shortage of resources are common in SNF’s, the therapists at Wesley Place enjoy working with their patients and patients are in turn highly satisfied with the care and treatment they