National Jewish Medical and Research Center Intensivists to Staff Rose Medical Center ICU

National Jewish Medical and Research Center and HealthONE  Rose MedicalCenter today announced a new partnership to provide a higher level of patient care with the implementation of an Intensivist Program. Intensivists from National Jewish will provide round-the-clock care to critically ill patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Rose Medical.
 

“The partnership is a win-win situation, and most importantly, it’s the right thing to do for our patients,” said Kenneth Feiler, President and CEO of Rose Medical Center. “Rose and National Jewish have a historical relationship, so it’s really exciting that we’re working together to provide exceptional care.”

Research shows that hospitals with ICUs managed exclusively by board-certified intensivists have significantly lower mortality rates. Hospitals initiating an Intensivist Model experience, on average, a 30 percent reduction in hospital mortality and a 40 percent reduction in ICU mortality.

National Jewish physicians participating in the critical care program are triple board-certified, in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine. Rose provides a wide variety of medical consultants to assist with care of the patients, as well as a state-of-the-art ICU.

“This collaboration will offer the highest level of medical care available anywhere,” said Michael Salem, MD, President and CEO of National Jewish. “We are delighted that this partnership will give us the opportunity to offer our expertise in critical care medicine to more patients in Denver and to extend our relationships with HealthONE and Rose Medical Center.”

“The Intensivist Model is the gold standard for critical care, and our collaborative program will not only meet, but will exceed current standards for Intensive Care Medicine,” said Kenneth Lichtenstein, MD, Chair of Department of Internal Medicine at Rose. “It’s exciting that Rose and National Jewish are cooperating at various levels to enhance critical care in the Denver Metropolitan area.”

The Intensivist Program addresses national patient safety standards set by The Leapfrog Group. Representing numerous Fortune 500 companies, The Leapfrog Group's mission is to trigger giant “leaps” forward in safety, quality and affordability of healthcare.

“The role of the intensivist is the comprehensive evaluation and management of the critically-ill patient,” said Stephen Frankel, MD, Medical Director of the National Jewish Critical Care Service.  “These specialty-trained physicians provide their expertise and undivided attention to patients in the ICU.”

The intensivists coordinate the critical care program’s multidisciplinary healthcare team, including the intensivists, consulting physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, dieticians, social workers, chaplains, the patients themselves and their families. They ensure that a smooth, efficient continuum of care is provided and that all of the patients’ needs are addressed.

Benefits associated with the intensivist approach include:

• Increased survival
• Reduced ICU length of stay
• Fewer clinical and procedural complications
• Reduced costs per case
• Fewer adverse events
• Improved patient and staff satisfaction
• Focus on patient safety
• Improved morbidity and mortality
• Decrease in ventilator days

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 among its 422 beds and outpatient services, 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 as Rose is the official hospital of the Colorado Avalanche hockey team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team, the Colorado Crush arena football team, and the Colorado Rush soccer league. 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.

About National Jewish:

National Jewish is the only medical and research center in the United States devoted entirely to respiratory, allergic and immune-system diseases, including asthma, tuberculosis, emphysema, severe allergies, cystic fibrosis, lupus and other autoimmune diseases. U.S. News & World Report has named National Jewish the best respiratory hospital in the nation for eight consecutive years.