Discharge planners are shouldering more responsibility due to higher-acuity patients, according to a recent industry report.
The Covid-19 pandemic landscape has led to various challenges among SNFs, Skilled Nursing News reported on June 21. The report outlined:
- Labor shortages
- Higher-acuity patients
- More complex post-SNF care and referral needs.
The influx of higher-acuity patients into SNFs brings deeper challenges to operators, said the report, titled “Succeeding in the New SNF Landscape.”
This leads to greater discharge planning responsibilities on the part of social workers and other discharge planners. This means a greater need for care coordination and wraparound services for more complex patients, according to the report.
“When patients enter SNFs with more complex care needs, they depart SNFs with more complex care needs, too,” the report added.
Clinicians must identify what care is needed for the patient, where the higher-acuity patient would best be treated, and who has the capacity to support certain comorbidities and conditions.
“That burden is now falling on the skilled facility,” said Kraig McKinley, of WellSky’s CarePort software. “They may not have had to do that before.”
High-acuity patients often present challenging medical conditions, and they often have significant, unpredictable needs, according to the Arkansas State University website.
Social workers and other discharge planners in northern Cook and Lake counties who are looking for a quality non-medical home care provider should contact Caleb Johnson, owner of FirstLight Home Care of Deerfield/Lake Forest.
Caleb can be contacted at (240) 880-6555, or cjohnson@firstlighthomecare.com. FirstLight is a nationwide company with locations in 25 states that has won client satisfaction awards. Its Lake County office is at 1580 S. Milwaukee Ave., Suite 201, Libertyville, IL.