Hingham MA (PRWEB) September 29, 2014 -- For more than a year, the transitional care unit at Harbor House Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Hingham, Massachusetts, has been easing the transition between hospital and home for area seniors. The post-hospital Short-Stay Unit at Harbor House, a Welch Healthcare & Retirement Group nursing center, is designed to decrease the need for rehospitalization by providing the care, services and rehabilitation necessary for seniors to return home safely.
“Delivering skilled transitional care has the potential to decrease hospital readmissions for seniors, while at the same time the ability to reduce spiraling hospital costs,” says Richard M. Welch, president of Welch Healthcare and Retirement Group. Studies show that return visits to hospitals within 30 days, account for one in nine hospital admissions. The American Health Care Association (AHCA), the nation’s largest association of long-term and post-acute care providers, considers preventing rehospitalizations for older adults to be a critical component in reducing overall healthcare costs to the Medicare program as well the negative physical and emotional effects rehospitalization may have on patients.
“This new unit is a model for patient-centered care,” says Susan Jessup, administrator of Harbor House Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. The goal, according to Jessup, is to seamlessly bridge rehabilitation initiated in the hospital with therapies provided at Harbor House in order to assure a successful transition to home. On average patients spend 5-10 days on the centers’ transitional care unit. Patients return home with an extensive discharge plan that includes follow-up with their primary care physician and any specialists, coordination of homecare services and medical equipment, as well as education on how to manage their medical condition and medications at home.
Harbor House’s Short-Stay Unit provides a specialized orthopedic program, cardiac & pulmonary care, post-operative recovery care, and wound care and diabetes management. The 15-bed unit features spacious private rooms and semi-private rooms, each with a flat screen TV, and a support staff of nurses and rehabilitation specialists. Additional Welch Group nursing centers in Massachusetts providing dedicated, post-hospital transitional care units for seniors include: Colonial Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Weymouth and Hancock Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Quincy.
“Patients are moving quickly from hospital to nursing center to home,” says Nancy Zappolo, director of referral and case management for Welch Healthcare and Retirement Group. According to Zappolo comprehensive communication systems between the hospitals and the rehabilitation and nursing centers will be essential to the success of the larger state wide initiative aimed at reducing hospitalizations and healthcare costs.
Harbor House Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Hingham was listed in the 2014 edition of Best Nursing Homes, published by U.S. News & World Report. The rating system was created to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily. In 2013, for the second year in a row, Harbor House received a deficiency-free survey from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Additionally, Harbor House is accredited by The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO), a nationally recognized symbol of quality that confirms Harbor House’s commitment and dedication to providing the highest quality healthcare.
Harbor House is a 138-bed skilled nursing center offering short-term rehabilitation, long-term care and post-acute hospitalization transitional care. Harbor House’s continuum of care includes an on-site Adult Day Memory Care Program and Allerton House at Hingham, an assisted living community with a specialized Memory Care Neighborhood. To learn more contact Admissions Director Stephen Welch at 781-749-4774 or via email at swelch(at)welchhrg(dot)com
For more than 65 years, Welch Healthcare and Retirement Group has been providing continuum of care services to seniors and their families who may need housing or care options, including independent living, assisted living, short-term rehabilitation and long-term care, Alzheimer’s care, adult day health and home care services. Residences and skilled centers are located in Brighton and throughout the South Shore of Massachusetts including Braintree, Duxbury, Hingham, Marshfield, Quincy and Weymouth. To learn more visit: http://www.welchhrg.com
Brian Cosgrove, Welch Healthcare & Retirement Group, http://www.welchhrg.com, +1 (781) 878-6700 Ext: 272, bcosgrove@welchhrg.com
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