For Case Management week, I’d like to recognize our Case Managers who persist against all odds in getting our patients what they need. Our Case Managers must consider so many things when working with a patient: care plans and clinical needs, insurance challenges, our beds and services, home environments, the availability of other institutions, and many other situational complications. At the same time, they are also a part of the team that helps ensure that the hospital is reimbursed for the care we provide. They are balancing many responsibilities to ensure the patients at MSBI have an excellent hospital experience and a safe plan of care once discharged.
“We juggle a lot of tasks that are all time-sensitive,” says Mary Sanabria, RN.
Jacqueline Johnson says, “It’s rewarding when we get to help our patients heal through interdisciplinary teamwork. For example, we see our patients benefit from spiritual care or music therapy.”
Jemma Innis agrees. “We rejoice when our patients get better and back into their community safely,” she says.
Our Case Managers experienced a challenge earlier this year, like many of our other colleagues, when we switched to a non-geographic medical, social work, and case management care model. They were instrumental in voicing their ideas about the change and remained patient and flexible while we all worked out the details together. This wasn’t an easy change, but our patients and our hospital are already better for it. With their help and many others, we’ve reduced wait times for available beds.
The Case Managers are dedicated nurses with years of experience in every area of medicine, psychiatry, and surgery. Our team is made up of nurses with 10-40 years of experience at MSBI.
This week they celebrated with a Chi cart visit, a mindfulness session, and a luncheon on Thursday.
I’m so grateful for this incredible group of MSBI colleagues who keep our patients safe and moving forward.