This resource describes the author’s changed understanding of the role of the health system in helping people with complex needs, sparked by an encounter with a vulnerable patient. The author, a nurse at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Michigan, leads the Complex Care Center there.
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The emergency department (ED) is also a social trauma center. Sometimes vulnerable individuals visit the ED simply because they are seeking a safe place and have nowhere else to go.
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The Complex Care Center addresses drivers of instability like housing status, transportation, grief, and loss, and builds partnerships with other entities in the community, even competitors.
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Consistency in care and reduction of fragmentation is critical to restoring dignity to vulnerable populations.
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A year after implementation, the first population of 165 patients served by the center had a 68 percent reduction in inpatient admissions and a 48 percent reduction in ED visits. Direct expenses decreased by 56 percent.