In the transition from hospital care to recovery, patients can feel lost in the cracks.
The Minneapolis-based Allina Health System discharges about 100,000 patients per year in the Twin Cities metro, and interviews a few years ago with 15 congestive heart failure patients put a spotlight on the problem.
"A third of them were in tears, because they didn't know where to go, what to do, what to take — all of those things," said Dr. Penny Wheeler, the chief executive of Allina, in an interview. The process troubles hospital workers, Wheeler said, because "nobody wants the people that they care for so diligently to ever feel left out."
That's part of the reason Allina partnered with St. Paul-based Presbyterian Homes & Services and Duluth-based Benedictine Health System to open two free-standing transitional care facilities in the Twin Cities metro in February.
Called Interlude Restorative Suites, the centers offer rehabilitation and wellness services following hospital care for patients with joint replacements, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, heart failure, acute heart attack and other conditions.
Presbyterian Homes covered 90 percent of the $17 million tab for a facility in Plymouth that's located next to Abbott Northwestern Hospital's WestHealth Campus. As the owner of Abbott Northwestern, Allina covered about 10 percent of costs.
It's the same split between Benedictine Health System and Allina on a slightly smaller $15 million facility in Fridley, which is connected by skyway to Allina's Unity Hospital.
Presbyterian Homes and Benedictine Health System specialize in long-term care, and each nonprofit group already offers transitional care in dedicated senior living communities or other centers. What's new with Interlude is locating centers so close to existing hospitals and clinics, while offering amenities that range from private rooms and smart TVs to state-of-the art rehabilitation equipment.