Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 22, 2012
The L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative, a partnership led by Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFS) to provide coordinated community-based services that will reduce avoidable hospital readmissions for Medicare patients, was selected on Friday, August 17 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as one of 17 additional sites across the nation to participate in the Community-based Care Transitions Program (CCTP).
CCTP reflects a new, innovative approach to health care delivery. The program identifies community-based organizations such as JFS that can provide care transitions services across the continuum of care and partner with one or more acute care hospitals and other community providers. The L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative includes hospitals, medical personnel, social workers, mental health professionals, and senior care specialists that will be able to provide better, more sustainable health care services all at a lower cost to the health care system.
Recent reports show that $ 12 billion is being spent annually on hospital readmissions for Medicare patients that might be preventable, said Paul S. Castro, CEO of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. By bringing together providers from across the care spectrum, older adults with complex medical and social service needs will receive the follow-up care and resources they need and will spend less time hospitalized unnecessarily.
Congressman Henry Waxman stated: I am delighted that the Los Angeles Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative has been selected as a Community-based Care Transitions Program (CCTP) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This partnership, led by Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, will take a new approach to reducing hospital readmissions, improving care and reducing costs. The partnership is the only collaborative selected in Los Angeles County and is among just a handful of collaboratives selected nationwide. I am particularly proud of this remarkable grouping of partners for the highly innovative and effective services they provide the residents of LA County.
With new tools provided by the Affordable Care Act, we can aggressively implement programs that will help hospitals reduce preventable errors, said Herb K. Schultz, Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative, through this initiative, will improve the quality of health care, and provide real assistance to medical professionals and hospitals to support their efforts to reduce harm.
We know that providing medical care for our patients does not end at our front door, said Andrew B. Leeka, president and CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital. The L.A. Mid-City Collaborative will bring additional resources to Medicare patients with chronic conditions, to help them receive the care they need.
Cathy Fickes, CEO of St Vincent Medical Center, said SVMC is delighted to be part of the Collaborative. The program will help reduce readmissions rates and provide continuity of care for our patients into their homes.
The L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative was formed by Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles in partnership with Good Samaritan Hospital, St. Vincent Medical Center and Olympia Medical Center. In addition, the L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative includes 14 skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation centers affiliated with Skilled Healthcare LLC and Country Villa Health Services, along with community-based organizations serving older adults in the Mid-City area (the Alzheimers Association, Hollywood Senior Multipurpose Center, St. Barnabas Senior Services, the KHEIR Center, and St. Vincent Meals on Wheels) and the Los Angeles City Department of Aging, and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. The organizations chosen for the L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative have a long history of providing a continuum of home, community and institutional based care to older adults in Los Angeles in a contiguous section of the diverse metropolitan area.
The L.A. Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative will begin providing transition services in Fall 2012, serving Medicare beneficiaries living in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles, stretching from downtown west to the 405 Freeway and from Hollywood south to the 10 Freeway. Geographically spanning the most dynamic, multicultural and densely-populated districts of Los Angeles, services will be provided in English, Spanish, Russian, Korean, and Farsi in a community that struggles with issues of poverty, immigrant integration and high hospital readmission rates.