Baby Boomers, the roughly 75 million children born in America between 1944 and 1964, are the first and largest generation to live longer with comorbid disease. According to JAMA Internal Medicine, Baby Boomers are living longer despite higher rates of hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. The U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates that by 2029 when the last of the Baby Boomers reach retirement age, the number of Americans over the age of 65 will exceed 71 million. As they retire, many will migrate from commercial healthcare plans to Medicare.
Adding to their stressful lives, Boomers also suffered from the Great Recession of 2010. According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, more than half the Baby Boomer population had their median net worth reduced to a range between $111,000 and $173,000. Fidelity Investments recently estimated that the total out-of-pocket medical costs for a couple retiring in 2013 were $220,000. Baby Boomers are forcing everyone in healthcare to rethink how services are provided to this growing, aging and ailing population.
Greystone Healthcare Management (GHCM), founded in 2001, has long been known for transitional care services which provide patients with a network that allows them to move seamlessly from the hospital to skilled nursing, rehabilitation and outpatient rehabilitation services, home health and hospice services.
“Our business model is really all about relationships. The better we know the patients, the physicians, and the family members, the better we can care for the patients. We get to know them and their needs,” said Chris Masterson, Senior Vice President of Clinical Innovations, Greystone Healthcare Management, “We recognize the need for increasing involvement of each patient in their own care, and we have developed Centers of Excellence to provide proactive patient education and care management models within each of the centers.”The purpose of the Centers of Excellence is to provide nursing professionals with health care updates and current strategies to care for patients with multiple chronic diseases. In many instances, this enables early recognition and intervention for symptoms of impending problems, which facilitates earlier physician involvement and positive therapeutic responses.
Research supports the conclusion that a commitment to ongoing education regarding best practices, clinical standards, and industry trends lays a foundation for progressive specialty services with quality outcomes.
GHCM clinicians work collaboratively with each patient and their family throughout the education process, utilizing self-directed education modules, practical application and innovative biofeedback opportunities to achieve success in each patient experience. GHCM has a network of skilled nursing, outpatient rehabilitation, home health and hospice services, which maximizes care communication and minimizes the anxiety and confusion patients and families can experience in search of quality care for their loved ones in the Baby Boomer Generation.
