Newswise — Baltimore, MD- LifeBridge Health, one of the largest and most comprehensive health care systems in the state of Maryland, announces the launch of its newest joint venture: Post-Acute Physician Partners, LLC (PAPP). PAPP will focus on providing high quality and efficient health care for patients who have left an acute-care hospital to continue their recovery at home or at another facility, such as a rehabilitation center or nursing home.
“When a patient moves from one facility to another or from the hospital to home, there can be challenges with continuity in that patient’s care, ranging from managing medications to understanding a person’s complete medical history. Through the creation of PAPP, we aim to decrease or eliminate these all-to-common issues during transitions in care, which we know to be pivotal times in a person’s recovery,” says Larry Foxwell, president of PAPP.
PAPP's goal will be to provide continuity of care from the acute care hospital setting to the home with high quality medical supervision all along the way. The organization is currently developing a roster of highly-skilled primary care and specialty physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who will specialize exclusively in the care of the people who have left the hospital, a field of medicine known as post-acute care.
PAPP follows the Post-Acute Care Hospitalist model or “PACH,” where medical professionals spend their full time providing services in post- acute locations. It is much like the concept of a hospital-based physician - the hospitalist - employing the same specialization and care in the post-acute environment.
“Many post-acute facilities have a traditional medical staff model where physicians or other health practitioners may not always be available when needed and who only visit the facilities on a routine basis. Patients, once admitted, may not be seen by their provider for several days and may face complications and have to go to the emergency room or be re-admitted to the hospital. For patients returning home after a hospital stay, they may need to go back to the hospital or wait for an appointment with their personal physician if they have a health concern. PAPP offers a new way to manage those transitions. Our network of health care providers will focus solely on post-acute medicine, offering oversight as well as greater availability to patients and facilities,” explains Foxwell.
PAPP is developing its network in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PAPP will work with physicians (primary and specialty), physician extenders (such as physicians’ assistants and nurse practitioners), hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and long-term, assisted and independent care organizations to manage and provide high quality and efficient medical care for post-acute patients.
The first facility to use the PAPP network will be LifeBridge Health's Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. PAPP is the brainchild of Foxwell and Brian White, senior vice president of LifeBridge Health and president of Northwest Hospital. White also oversees the post-acute division for LifeBridge Health, which includes Levindale, a 365-bed chronic care hospital and the 39-bed sub-acute unit at Northwest Hospital.
"As the president of an acute care hospital, as well as the senior vice president of LifeBridge Health's post-acute division, I've had a unique opportunity to see the issues facing our frailest patients from both sides. I see patients receiving great care in our hospitals, but when they leave us to go back home, we may or may not have the chance to participate in their transitional care," says White.
He adds, "However, in today's health care environment, acute care hospitals are being held financially responsible for what happens to our patients after they walk out our doors. We felt it was important to find new and better ways to continue to participate in our patients' care, even after they leave our hospital settings. Thus, the idea of Post-Acute Physicians Partners was born."
A key part of PAPP’s mission is a focus on quality. The organization will continually monitor the care and outcomes of its patients and measure results to identify any potential weaknesses in the transitions of care, and to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients. PAPP will provide support, oversight and ongoing education to the medical staff, post-acute staff, patients and care partners to ensure consistency in care and the best outcomes possible.
"We will only be as good as the practitioners who represent us. Our focus will be on recruiting and retaining the best providers in the area, affording them the resources and support they need to offer top-notch care to their patients. Our goal will be to increase the quality of care for every organization we represent, while also enhancing patient and resident satisfaction at every level," says Foxwell.
PAPP is a partnership between LifeBridge Health and Foxwell, who has 25 years of experience in structuring successful physician enterprises. He has also been chief executive officer and chief financial officer for a large, for-profit hospital company.
LifeBridge Health is one of the largest, more comprehensive providers of health services in Maryland. LifeBridge Health includes Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and related subsidiaries and affiliates. For more information, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org.
For more information on PAPP, including employment opportunities, visit www.pappartners.com or call 410-548-2343.
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