Palomar Update: Understanding and Progress in Healthcare
As you know Palomar has been juggling several balls lately including unit licensing, nursing shortages and Tri-City Psychiatry closure preparations, all of which have created delays and shifting plans as the opportunities are clarified. The good news is new nursing staff are coming online now, licensing approved one step forward last week and headway is being made with SD County to garner extra provider coverage to address the Tri-City potential. In our pond, the Palomar Health Board of Directors are extremely pleased with all we’ve accomplished together these past few months, near 100% provider up-time with a very short transition time, higher satisfaction scores overall and new dedicated telepsych team are among stand outs. Sheila (Brown) and other Palomar leaders clearly understand our concerns from this week, and commit to do what it takes to deliver on their highest priority; patient care. We have authorization to staff additional hours for the coming week, as we had done for July based on work volume. Your ability to flex up some additional hours to cover the patients is greatly appreciated. From all of us at SMA, and all of those at Palomar: Thank you for your continued dedication to our community, and for your compassionate care to the patients coming through our doors each day. The Near Future
Sheila is speaking with the credential office on our behalf today to expedite 4 providers we have in credentialing at the moment; one full-time MD and NP, and a part time MD and 2 NPs. We have a long-term proposal under review by Palomar aiming at a 5th daily provider to cover the higher staffing at the units. At the end of next week we have a follow up meeting scheduled aiming to settle on a long-term solution for coverage of the units based on the new projected bed counts of 22 BHU and 12 GPU. Further, yesterday we were asked to prepare a separate proposal in conjunction with a petition to SD County aiming at a new provider covering expanded consult volume as it relates to Tri-City; we got the proposal out to them same day and expect to hear news on this proposal in several weeks. Real understanding of this facility's needs and even better, progress and momentum towards fulfilling those needs!
