title: Grant helps ED refer patients to health center.
abstract: With the help of a $2 million grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the ED at Monmouth (NJ) Medical Center, and the Monmouth Family Health Center have created a referral system that had lightened the burden for the ED and found many more patients a health care "home." Whereas in the past, length of stay (LOS) for those patients who went to the fast track has been as high as 90 minutes, the LOS for these patients has been under 70 minutes. A shared computer system enables the ED to access the center's schedule and arrange for follow-up visits. The ED added 12 hours a day of advanced practice nurses during the busiest hours of the day to treat and refer uninsured patients. A primary care-type conditions list is used during triage to help identify referral prospects.
mesh_terms: D003151:Community Health Centers; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005381:Financing, Organized; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D009515:New Jersey; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014481:United States