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JP Valin, M.D., hospitalist at McKee Medical Center

Progress at McKee Medical Center

When Dr. Valin moved to Colorado in 2000 as a general internist, he didn’t realize he would be creating and running a new program at McKee within six years. In 2006, Dr. Valin joined a team of physicians to begin the hospitalist program, a fragile yet rewarding task for Dr. Valin. “Traditionally, you saw your patients in your office, and when they were admitted to the hospital you would see them in the hospital, but there’s been a division now that we’ve created the hospitalist program,” says Dr. Valin. Though the division may be hard for some patients in the beginning, the intense attention and care the patient receives is far more frequent and focused than it would be with their primary care physician.

Not only has the 2006 transition been a help to the patients, but to the primary care physicians in the community as well. Dr. Valin says, “We are here 24/7, which has created a better schedule for primary physicians. Before, they would be on call all day and night for their patients at the hospital. Now that we’re here, we can be dedicated to patient care at all times. If there is an emergency we are at their side within moments, rather than taking time for their physician to get a call and head to the hospital,” adds Dr. Valin. The 24/7 care of hospitalists ensures greater patient safety because a decision can be made within a few seconds, rather than a few hours.

Not only is the schedule better for everyone, but the teamwork and unity within the hospital is in sync as well. “We are here all the time so we can keep consistency and look at new areas as a team of how to improve our service,” adds Dr. Valin.

Paperless at McKee

Better patient care and better safety aside, the new paperless system at McKee creates even more balance for primary care physicians and the hospitalists. “We are now linked electronically,” says Dr. Valin. “Every hospital note can be reviewed by a patient’s primary care doctor because they have access to our in-patient records and information; even the labs are transferred.” Before, all written notes had to be reviewed by one person at a time, or had to be faxed or sent to a primary care physician. With a paperless system now in place, everyone is on the same page.

The only time it is necessary to contact a primary care physician directly for a patient is during a drastic circumstance. “When, or if, we begin to deal with life or death issues, we contact their doctor to make sure we have all the information needed to make that kind of decision,” says Dr. Valin. Once the hospitalist speaks with the patient’s primary doctor, the best informed decision can be made for the patient.

The community a patient enters into when admitted to the hospital is exactly what the hospitalist program was designed to facilitate. From day one the hospitalists get information, establish trust and introduce the patient to their new community at McKee. But what happens when the patient leaves the hospital? “When a patient is discharged from our facility, they are right back in the hands of their primary care physician,” says Dr. Valin.

When the hospitalist program at McKee began seeing such great results, Dr. Valin met with the staff at North Colorado Medical Center to launch a hospitalist program at their location. Enter Steven Loecke, M.D.

Steven Loecke, M.D., spearheaded the implementation of North Colorado Medical Center’s hospitalist program in April 2009.

Making a Difference at NCMC

The need to get involved and serve patients who may not receive enough personalized care was the heart of the issue for Dr. Loecke and his staff at North Colorado Medical Center (NCMC). “Our desire to get involved was appreciated and heard by everyone in our community,” says Dr. Loecke.

The journey began in April 2009 for NCMC and Dr. Loecke. Initially, there was only one physician and three locums (temporary physicians) on staff. Now, with the joint effort of Greeley Medical Clinic Internal Medicine and Banner Health, NCMC has nine full time physicians in the program. The biggest surprise was the huge need for this program. “We are a bigger hospital than McKee. Beginning in April, we have worked to establish algorithms to make this program successful as it grows. We are looking to have 14 to 15 doctors in this program eventually,” says Dr. Loecke.

Dr. Loecke and his staff stress that the type of care hospitalists do is not the same as a primary care physician. “This is different and we treat it as such. We want to provide the best in care to patients as hospitalists, but we understand that we are not their primary care physicians. We work to improve care through extra time with patients and efficient use of hospital systems,” he continues.

Yet another community presence at NCMC is the Sunrise (Community Health) Program. The program gives quality care to patients who may have a low medical literacy and who typically have not been able to afford care from a primary family physician. “Before the hospitalist program, we were seeing many patients come to the emergency room for their primary care because they had no doctor anywhere else,” explains Dr. Loecke, “but our hospitalist program is able to coordinate care with Sunrise Clinic to ensure patients have the opportunity for primary care in the outpatient setting.” The Sunrise program is another venue for Dr. Loecke and his dedicated staff to effectively meet the needs of their community.

The paperless medical records movement is part of future plans for NCMC. “We will focus on logistics this year. Now we are all going to be online, which makes the quality of care grow even more,” says Dr. Locke. In addition to the move toward a paperless environment, Dr. Locke and his staff will be adding a 10th physician in January 2010.

“Our patients are our number one client,” says Dr. Locke. NCMC’s nursing staff and new nurse practitioner Tenley Roeder are also working to make a difference for patients. If the nurses, the nurse practitioner, physicians, and hospitalists are all able to work well together, a patient’s wellness and security is ensured, he concludes.

Not only are the hospitalist programs at McKee and NCMC running efficiently, they are quickly growing into necessary programs to ensure patient satisfaction and safety. Both centers are doing everything they can to build a new community within their hospital walls. +