Because of the demanding nature of the hospice industry, clinical administrators, hospice directors, and after-hours coordinators often struggle to find ways to provide quality care while keeping a tight rein on staffing costs. Quality care is the number one priority of hospice staff and nurses. Patients’ needs come first. It comes down to a daily exercise in juggling priorities.
Hospice administrators are often challenged to find the perfect balance between staffing needs, budget, and services. Three key areas are constantly competing for time and resources:
- Protecting your staff from the burnout that leads to disruptive turnovers.
- Operating efficiently despite fluctuating census numbers.
- Providing high quality, compassionate patient care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
These demands mean looking for alternative resources for outsourcing after-hours care. Some hospices choose traditional answering service models or on-staff operators, but when investigating after-hours telephone triage, think about the value of professional care and scalable services.
A professionally staffed service like AfterHours Triage (AHT) gives you customized solutions that reduce turnover, improve efficiency, and give you a competitive advantage in the rapidly expanding hospice industry.
The Value of Professional Care
The value of AHT lies in our ability to provide a team of RNs specifically trained in hospice care. When patients or families call after-hours, their call is answered within seconds by a medical professional trained and qualified to assist in both emergent and non-emergent situations. When your plan of care includes home visits and a 24/7 telephone triage on-call center, you create a perfect balance of immediate assistance and coordination between on-call staff and the case manager. The value of AHT’s professional after-hours telephone triage includes:
- Clinically trained RNs
- Knowledgeable in hospice care and protocols
- Experienced in documenting/ recording calls
- Discerning and able to communicate in high-stress situations
The Value of Scalable Services
It is possible to juggle the efficiency of your hospice and reduce the costs of your service. Choose an after-hours telephone triage that is scalable. AHT services can be scaled based on increased demand caused by the fluctuation of census numbers, natural disasters, facility down time, or staffing changes. AHT offers exceptional value that is available when you need it without disruption to your continuity of care:
- Scalability
- Variable pricing
- Short-term solutions
Finding after-hours support is easier than you think. See how AfterHours Triage can extend your services without extending your staff, contact us or call 888-260-8460.