Transcript
The DON Perspective
Ayasha Thomason
Hi, I’m Ayasha Thomason, president of Integrated Care Professionals. And today I have Jeffrey who is a director of nursing at a local assisted living facility that we currently partner with. Welcome Jeffrey!
Jeffrey Wright
Thank you so much. Ayasha, happy to be here.
Ayasha Thomason
So Jeffrey, tell us just kind of a little bit about how the relationship has formed since having your nurse practitioner on site and kind of what’s evolved since then.
Jeffrey Wright
So in our situations as assisted living, given the times that we are experiencing, mom and dad don’t necessarily have to go out to the physician. They can be seen basically in home in the comfort of their home and facility and get the exact same care that they need as if they were face to face to their primary care physician.
Ayasha Thomason
Does your ICP nurse practitioner have a lot of contact with family members? Does she communicate her plan of care with them?
Jeffrey Wright
Oh, absolutely. That is one of the strong points with ICP is that there is just transparency and open communication with the patient as well as a loved one who is concerned about issues. It really is a whole holistic team approach to health care for our residents.
Ayasha Thomason
So how does it work when you get a new resident that’s moving in? What kind of things would the nurse practitioner take care of on the front end?
Jeffrey Wright
Well, of course, when a new resident moves into our facility, there are many introductions with staff and other residents as well. But specifically, an ICP nurse practitioner would come in on the day of move in and visit with that resident, let them know about some of the services that we offer and to make them feel more at ease and comfortable with making those decisions to join up with ICP. Because individuals do love their primary cares and they’ve had them for a long time. Just to give an example of a client that moved in within that week, she was seen by the nurse practitioner and was diagnosed with dementia at that point and it had not been documented prior from her PCP, but because we were able to get her that diagnosis so soon in moving in, that we were able to place her appropriately and in a timely manner to support her needs.
Ayasha Thomason
And then how does it work when there’s an urgent care issue that pops up with a resident who does maybe want to keep their primary care provider?
Jeffrey Wright
Well, ICP offers the ability for a resident to see the nurse practitioner on what we would say would be an acute visit or emergent care. Again, they would have to go out with the facility, but with ICP they wouldn’t. I would basically just get on the phone and call the nurse practitioner, discuss symptoms, set up an appointment, go ahead and draw labs, maybe get an X ray to expedite and address the issue at hand almost immediately.
Ayasha Thomason
That’s great. What do you consider the greatest benefits of having an ICP nurse practitioner in your facility?
Jeffrey Wright
Well, I can tell you that honestly, one of the best benefits in my facility is the, for so long, we have been structured to be on schedule. We’ve got to do X-Y-Z and pick the kids up here, etc, etc. But when you get to that point of retirement and moving into an assisted living, you don’t want to have to deal with that structure anymore. You want to wake up, your day is free. You don’t. You can do whatever you like to do. So having a nurse practitioner on site and visiting with you in your home as you have these needs, it just supports that freedom and that relaxation and supporting that enjoyment that you deserve in your later years.
Ayasha Thomason
Jeffrey, can you tell me how your nurse practitioner works with you guys in attending clinical meetings and important meetings that determine or that look at overall resident conditions and how that helps you guys?
Jeffrey Wright
Well, of course, we see our residents daily, and we will not take a decline or even a flourishing of health. So we’re in constant communication and we will troubleshoot together any plan of care.
Ayasha Thomason
So, Jeffrey, would you recommend our services to other directors of nursing and to other facilities?
Jeffrey Wright
Absolutely, I would. Having ICP nurse practitioners available daily is not only an added luxury to our residents, but it has helped me and our nurses here tremendously.
Ayasha Thomason
Thank you so much, Jeffrey, for being here with me today. I really appreciate your time.
Jeffrey Wright
Well, thank you. Ayasha, it was my pleasure.
