Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services to Tap Technology to Help Chronically Ill Patients from Returning to Hospital
Toledo, OH (PRWEB) April 24, 2015 -- An innovative program developed by Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS) will now use technology to help seniors manage their health at home after discharge from the hospital.
The Home to Stay program, which debuted in July 2013 through OPRS’s subsidiary Senior Independence, is offered at no cost to patients of the Northwest Ohio Accountable Care Organization. A registered nurse or licensed practical nurse visits a patient within 72 hours after being discharged from the hospital, with an additional follow-up visit within seven to 10 days. The nurses review patients’ medications, take vital signs, establish health records, confirm appointments and more.
Results of the program have been better than anticipated. In the program’s first year, participating patients showed a 3.4 percent hospital re-admission (return) rate, compared to a regional average of 16 percent re-admission. These results represent a substantial financial savings as well as better health management for patients.
A $30,000 Verizon grant will allow Home to Stay to include a telehealth component, which will provide patients with glucose monitoring, pulse checking and other health measurements. The monitoring equipment will send data via a computer tablet to a nurse at Senior Independence for review.
"OPRS is a healthcare leader in the community and we are proud to further help in its mission to strengthen and expand services for seniors, especially through the use of technology," said Mark Frazier, regional president for Verizon Wireless.
Wendy Price Kiser, executive director of Senior Independence’s greater Toledo region said, “Before Home to Stay many seniors were left on their own after being discharged from the hospital – including some with dementia. Now they have a nurse to help them understand how to take their medications correctly, provide them with evaluations at their home, teach them which questions to ask at doctor appointments and create lifesaving personal health records."
“We are eager to see how our seniors will adapt to the new technologies provided by Verizon, and the impact they will have,” said Kiser.
About Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company’s innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education, healthcare and energy management. Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live. Verizon’s employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities. For more information about Verizon’s philanthropic work, visit http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility; or for regular updates, visit Facebook and Twitter.
About Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS)
Founded in 1922, Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS) is the largest and most experienced not-for-profit provider of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) and services in Ohio. Each year, OPRS serves more than 73,000 people annually through its wholly owned subsidiaries OPRS Communities and Senior Independence. OPRS Communities operates 12 retirement communities. Senior Independence provides home and community based services, operates five adult day centers and manages six senior centers, in partnership with local governments. The OPRS Foundation raises several million dollars annually to support charity care, special programs, capital expansion and endowment.
Sue Trumbull, Senior Independence, http://www.seniorindependence.org/, 419-865-1499, [email protected]
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