National Jewish to Manage Hospitalist Program at Rose Medical

As part of a strengthening collaboration between two central Denver hospitals, National Jewish Medical and Research Center has begun managing a growing hospitalist program and providing pulmonary consultative services at HealthOne Rose Medical Center. Hospitalists are physicians who care exclusively for hospital inpatients. In 2006, National Jewish intensivists began providing care in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

“Our initial partnership in the intensive care unit has been working extremely well,” said Kenneth Feiler, President and CEO of Rose Medical Center. “We are thrilled to continue expanding this partnership to improve inpatient care in central Denver.”

“This partnership will bring together the best of academic medicine and community medicine in order to enhance patient care,” said Michael Salem, MD, CEO and President of National Jewish.

Hospitalists have become a common subspecialty of medicine in the past decade, in recognition that inpatient care is so different than outpatient care provided by most patients’ primary care doctors. Research has shown that the use of hospitalists improves patient outcomes as well as reduces patients’ length of stay in hospitals.

Rose has an excellent existing hospitalist program already. National Jewish involvement will add an academic focus to the program while increasing the services available to the hospital and the community, said National Jewish intensivist Stephen Frankel, MD. Dr. Frankel oversees both the hospitalist and intensivist programs at Rose. Research into new and better methods of hospital care will be quickly translated to the bedside at Rose. Dr. Frankel has already begun implementing standardized protocols that assure all the hospitalists provide consistent, evidence-based care to every patient. The National Jewish hospitalist program will also conduct its own research to improve care. The Rose program is staffed by nine physicians and two acute-care nurse practitioners, at least one of whom is onsite at the hospital 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Prominent Denver pulmonologists William Pluss, MD, and Susan Kotake, MD, who provide pulmonary services at Rose, will also join the National Jewish care network. Dr. Pluss, who has been practicing in Denver for 24 years, has been named by 5280 magazine as one of the best pulmonologists in the city for eight years. Dr. Kotake has been serving at Rose for seven years, and for the past year in the Rose intensive care unit.

“National Jewish patients will benefit, with their doctors providing a full range of services at a nearby hospital,” said Kevin Brown, MD, Vice Chair of Medicine at National Jewish.

About National Jewish Medical and Research Center

National Jewish Medical and Research Center is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. Founded in 1899 as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish remains the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to these disorders. For 10 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked National Jewish the #1 respiratory hospital in the nation. Scholarly publisher Thomson Scientific has ranked National Jewish among the 25 most influential research institutions in the world in its areas of focus.

About Rose Medical Center

Well known as a Denver institution and a 9th Avenue landmark for more than a half-century, HealthONE Rose Medical Center has earned its reputation as Denver's "Baby Hospital" while becoming a leader in women's and surgical services, orthopedics, total joint replacement, and sports, internal, aesthetic and family medicine. By offering a high level of expertise and service across all disciplines, Rose has truly become a “destination hospital,” attracting patients from throughout Colorado and around the world. This includes athletes of all ages and abilities, as well as professional athletes. Rose is the official hospital of the Colorado Avalanche hockey team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team and the Colorado Crush arena football team. Rose is one of America’s Best Hospitals according to U.S. News & World Report, a recipient of the Consumer Choice Award by the National Research Corporation and voted Denver’s Top Birthing Center by readers of Colorado Parent Magazine.