TriHealth Senior Link

Katie Bender, Summer 2010

I think that probably the greatest lesson I learned this summer was about the importance of integrated care and of listening to patients. TriHealth SeniorLink is an innovative program. The program serves seniors with low income and multiple chronic health concerns. It provides this medically needy population with all inclusive medical care. Occupational therapists go to client homes and install things such as lift chairs and tub grab bars. Each day, clients are transported by handicapped accessable van to the day health centers to socialize, eat prepared meals, and participate in various activities. Participants also receive physical therapy services to maintain fitness level. An onsite pharmacy dispenses medications to all the clients. People in the program also see their primary care physician and an assigned nurse at least once per month so that each individual's medical status can be monitored over time. Home care services, such as assistance with bathing, cooking and house cleaning are also available to parcitipants that have need. Social workers are also available to help clients as needed as well as mental health services such as counseling. For each participant in the program, the entire team including the physical and occupational therapists, the doctor, nurses, social worker and more meet twice each year to discuss the status of each individual and how his or her medical and social needs have changed over the past six months.

The program as a whole seems very innovative to me and I think programs such as this have the potential to grow and are valuable to reducing health care costs. It is funded by medicare and medicaid funds and a set amount is paid monthy per participant. Some clients use much more than the allotted amount, some use much less. The overall goal of this program and others like it is to keep elderly medically needy senior citizens out of nursing homes. Healthcare carefully managed within this program such that there is usually a group surplus of funds for all participants. The hollistic approach is very important to this. For example, I never knew how much benefit physical therapy could have until helping out in that department. The regular visits with the physicians and nurses are also important to this because minor medical concerns are reported and dealt with as much as possible so that they do not snowball into larger issues requiring more intensive therapy, which is a particular danger with this patient populatoin.

Perhaps my favorite part of this summer was working with and listening to patients. I originally chose to participate in the Urban Health Project because I was exhausted from the intensive studying medical school requres and I wanted to remember what my ultimate goal is: to help people. I really enjoyed interacting with all the clients and learning the struggles they go through as patients. I now better understand some of the challenges I might face when dealing with underserved populations in the future. I have a new appreciation for the human element of medicine and looking at the patient as a whole and tackling the real cause behing problems rather than just treating symptoms. What is ultimately most important is quality of life, and this summer I really feel I grew in my understanding of what it takes to work toward that goal.