Project Grant G3850052

DELTA HEALTH SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM - IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER'S CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM'S PROJECT ABSTRACT IRON COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT D/B/A IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER 301 MO-21, PILOT KNOB, MO 63663 KAYLA CHAMBERLAIN PHONE: 573.546.8051 EMAIL: KAYLA.CHAMBERLAIN@ICMEDCENTER.ORG WEBSITE: WWW.ICMEDCENTER.ORG PROGRAM FUNDS REQUESTED $404,000 ICMC IS AN INDEPENDENT, 15-BED, NOT FOR PROFIT CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITAL, LOCATED IN THE RURAL SOUTHEAST QUADRANT OF MISSOURI. ICMC IS PHYSICALLY LOCATED IN THE TOWN OF PILOT KNOB IN IRON COUNTY. ICMC PRIMARILY SERVES PATIENTS FROM IRON COUNTY BUT ALSO SERVES PATIENTS FROM SAINT FRANCOIS, REYNOLDS, MADISON, AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES. ICMC OPERATES A LABORATORY, PHARMACY, AND A RURAL HEALTH CLINIC (RHC). HOSPITAL SERVICES INCLUDE RADIOLOGY, LABORATORY, INPATIENT CARE, NEXT STEPS - SWING BED, OUTPATIENT THERAPIES FOR PHYSICAL, OCCUPATIONAL AND SPEECH, SURGERY, RESPIRATORY, CARDIAC REHAB, EMERGENCY SERVICES, AND PHARMACY INFUSIONS. THE FAMILY CARE CLINIC PROVIDES CARDIOLOGY, UROLOGY, GASTROENTEROLOGY, EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT (ENT), RHEUMATOLOGY, PODIATRY, AND ENDOCRINOLOGY AND NEPHROLOGY SERVICES VIA TELEMEDICINE. OTHER SERVICES INCLUDE DIETARY CONSULTING, HEALTH TESTING, IMAGING SOLUTIONS, INCLUDING X-RAY, ULTRASOUND, AND CT SCAN AND COUNSELING SERVICES FOR PATIENTS RECOVERING FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA, SURGERY, AND INJURY. THE POPULATION TO BE SERVED HAS SYSTEMATICALLY EXPERIENCED GREATER OBSTACLES TO HEALTH BECAUSE OF THEIR SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, GEOGRAPHIC ISOLATION, AND LONGER DISTANCES TO ACCESS THE LIMITED CARE THAT IS AVAILABLE LOCALLY. PRACTITIONER SHORTAGES AND FACILITY CLOSURES IN RURAL AREAS FURTHER IMPEDE ACCESS TO CARE, WHICH THE POPULATION HAS FEARED ITS LOCAL HOSPITAL CLOSING FOR MULTIPLE YEARS. ADDITIONAL HEALTH DISPARITIES INCLUDE LOWER PAYING JOBS, LESS EDUCATION, AND LACK HEALTH LITERACY. INDICATORS FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC HEALTH DISPARITIES ARE NOTABLY GREATER IN IRON COUNTY. OTHER DISPARITIES INCLUDE THE AGING POPULATION, THOSE WITH DISABILITIES, AND THE UNINSURED. A QUARTER OF IRON COUNTY'S POPULATION HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO HAVE A DISABILITY STATUS, AND ALMOST HALF OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE 64 AND OLDER, CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL ELDERLY, DISABLED, VULNERABLE POPULATION. CHRONIC DISEASE INDICATORS SHOW THAT IT IS HIGHLY PREVALENT IN IRON COUNTY. ALMOST 75% OF THE MEDICARE POPULATION IN IRON COUNTY HAS MULTIPLE CHRONIC DISEASES. THE MORTALITY RATES FOR HEART DISEASE AND LUNG DISEASE IN IRON COUNTY ARE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER, DOUBLING FOR LUNG DISEASE. OVER-ARCHING GOAL: TO IMPROVE THE LOCAL HEALTHCARE DELIVERY BY IMPLEMENTING OBJECTIVES THAT WILL IMPROVE THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER AND INCREASE ACCESS TO CARE IN RURAL IRON COUNTY. DESIRED LONG-TERM OUTCOMES: REDUCED MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF CO-CHRONIC DISEASES. GOAL: BY THE END OF THE TWO-YEAR PERIOD, IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER WILL IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF RURAL PATIENTS LIVING WITH TWO OR MORE CHRONIC DISEASES BY REDUCING MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY RATES OF CHRONIC DISEASES. OBJECTIVE 1: BY SEPTEMBER 29, 2025, IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER WILL INCREASE SWING BED SERVICES FOR PATIENTS WITH TWO OR MORE CHRONIC DISEASES BY TRANSFERRING 175 PATIENTS FROM INPATIENT TO SWING BED STATUS. OBJECTIVE 2: BY SEPTEMBER 29, 2025, IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER WILL REDUCE 30-DAY HOSPITAL READMISSIONS BY 2% FOR PATIENTS THAT ARE READMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL WITHIN 30 DAYS WITH THE SAME ILLNESS THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY DISCHARGED. OBJECTIVE 3: BY SEPTEMBER 29, 2025, IRON COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER WILL IMPLEMENT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS BY RECEIVING PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME (PCMH) RECOGNITION.