The organization’s mobile Post-Acute and Community Services Clinic is designed to serve rural seniors who may have difficulty traveling to medical appointments, with an initial focus on patients in assisted living or skilled nursing facilities.
“When we initially set up the clinic, there were discussions from senior leaders both on the Sanford and Good Samaritan sides to really come to the table with ideas on how we can serve that rural health population and continue to care for residents in their homes,” Good Samaritan Society vice president of nursing and clinical services Rochelle Rindels told Hospice News. “We decided to stand up this clinic, got some of the providers that worked in the older adult geriatric sector and really looked at what skill mix would be needed there.”
“When we have a patient who moves into needing hospice care, it’s usually that same provider or physician that can follow through from the mobile clinic into that hospice care setting,” Rindels told Hospice News. “So a lot of our providers are really encouraged to follow the residents throughout their lifespan.”