March 17, 2023

Ask the Expert: Collaborating to serve our senior population

Health care is good at acute interventions – responding to an emergency or fixing us when something is broken. To be the best for those we serve, we need to think bigger: focusing on health and well-being, in addition to treating illness.

This is especially important when caring for older patients. It is a fact of life that we will need more care as we age. By investing in preventive care and making patient care seamless for seniors, we can keep people healthier and reduce costs.

That’s why I was excited to see Cox HealthPlans launch CoxHealth Medicare Advantage, a new Medicare advantage product, in January.

By offering Medicare coverage and features with an enhanced, local touch, the new plan helps us provide our region’s seniors the care they need. CoxHealth Medicare Advantage currently serves more than 4,000 patients, and it continues to grow.

On the business side, Medicare advantage plans incentivize what is known as “value-based care.” Medicare pays a fee to administer the health plan, and providers and insurers work together to keep the covered population healthy.

“Senior patients are a growing part of our demographic, and we want to meet their needs,” says Matt Aug, president of Cox HealthPlans. “We are working to manage their care to produce better health and help reduce the need for expensive, acute interventions.”

I am proud that Cox HealthPlans is offering a locally based option for Medicare patients. Health care can be complex, and Matt is quick to point out that Cox HealthPlans serves patients with resources like navigators and a local call center.

“Patients can call in or drop by our offices with any questions they have,” Matt says. That local touch makes a big difference for our seniors.

The efforts of Matt and his team are just part of the ways we are investing in senior patients, and you can expect to hear more about our future plans soon.

In the meantime, Medicare advantage is a world you may not know a lot about. Fortunately, we have an expert! In this week’s “Ask the Expert” feature, Matt explains how the plans benefit our patients, and produce wins for everyone involved. You can read Matt’s Q&A at this link.

Scaling back our masking policy

Earlier this week, we were able to announce that we have scaled back our masking approach for patients, visitors and staff. We now only require masking of health care workers, patients and visitors in settings where patients are at the greatest risk.

Patient and staff safety are our top priorities, and CoxHealth continues to take a risk-based approach to protect our most vulnerable patients. Masks will be optional for visitors and patients, although they remain strongly encouraged in high-risk areas, such as oncology.

Staff will continue masking when providing direct inpatient care or when interacting with patients for a prolonged period of time in an acute care setting.

I am thankful for the years of hard work and dedication from our teams who got us to the position we are in today. You can see our full release on the change here.

Phelps Health joins the BJC Collaborative

Collaboration is the way forward in health care, and this week, we have another example.

On Wednesday, Phelps Health in Rolla, Mo., announced that they are joining the BJC Collaborative, an affiliation between likeminded healthcare systems throughout Illinois and Missouri.

Including CoxHealth, Phelps Health is the eighth health system to join the group, which also includes BJC HealthCare in St. Louis, Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, and more.

While remaining independent health systems, members of the BJC Collaborative work together to achieve savings, implement programs to improve access to and quality of health care, lower costs and create efficiencies that benefit patients and communities.

You can see the full news release at this link.

Heart pillows give an ‘extra touch’

We know being in the hospital is usually not an ideal situation, and it can be stressful. Many of our teams go out of their way to add special touches and make sure our patients know they are in the best hands.

Our Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) team at Cox South recently raised funds to support our volunteers who hand sew heart pillows for patients after heart surgery. The pillows not only serve as an extra comfort, they are practical! After heart surgery, patients are instructed to not use their arms to lift themselves up – the heart pillow gives patients something to “hug” while sitting up.

The CVICU team and their patients love the “heart” and soul put into these pillows. “It’s more than just a little gift – our patients realize the love and care that our volunteers put into creating these pillows. We’re extremely grateful to the volunteers for doing this and making a difference for our patients,” the CVICU team says.

If you’re good with a needle (you do not want me trying to sew), you can sign up to volunteer on our website here.

Voice of the patient

Adapted from patient feedback at Cox Springfield Emergency Department: “Dr. Sam Alexander was wonderful! He was so nice, empathetic, attentive and patient.”

Thank you for all you do,

Max

Direct Line from Max Buetow for 3/17/2023