THE RIZOR INSTITUTE AT SALUDE – A NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY PAIN MANAGEMENT

Salude - The Art of Recovery is proud to announce the opening of their Inpatient and Outpatient Interdisciplinary Pain Management program, The Rizor Institute at Salude, which will specialize in the treatment of chronic pain.

Chronic pain affects approximately one in five people — up to 60 million Americans. Conventional treatments such as surgery and pain medications are often ineffective and may worsen the chronic pain. Interdisciplinary Pain Management (IPM) is a clinically and cost-effective approach to the treatment of chronic pain. IPM programs in the past have had a proven record of reducing chronic pain, increasing physical function, reducing or eliminating opioid use, and returning patients to work.

Led by Dr. Kriegel, Dr. Rizor, and Dr. Dermyer who, combined, have over 80 years of experience as leaders in the field of Interdisciplinary Pain Management, The Rizor Institute at Salude has received preliminary accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). This is a way to certify that the treatment at this facility meets the rigorous CARF standards and is broadly recognized by referring physicians, healthcare organizations, and insurance payors/managed care organizations.

The Rizor Institute at Salude is now accepting patients from managed care/insurance payors or by direct physician referral. Before acceptance, the IPM team will also perform a thorough initial assessment to determine an individual treatment plan for each patient. For more information or to make a patient referral, go here.

U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde Tours Salude

Last week, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia’s 9th Congressional District visited Salude, an upscale transitional care and rehabilitation facility in Suwanee, Georgia.

The congressman toured Salude and met with team members who advocated for critical issues affecting the skilled nursing and health care industry. They were joined by Seth Coker, VP of Government Affairs for the Georgia Health Care Association, and Wanda Prince, Salude’s Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer.

“Our team was able to show Congressman Clyde our innovative transitional care model, discuss crucial topics affecting our industry’s overall health and answer his questions. It was a wonderful visit,” said Dr. Alan L. Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP, Salude’s CEO.

(Top picture left to right: Seth Coker, VP of Government Affairs for the Georgia Health Care Association; Dr. Alan L. Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP, Salude’s CEO; Rep. Andrew Clyde, Georgia’s 9th Congressional District; Wanda Prince, Salude’s Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer)

Salude Named Among the Best Nursing Homes by U.S. News and World Report for Sixth Year in a Row

For the sixth year in a row, Salude was recognized as a leading nursing home in the United States for short-term rehabilitation care by U.S. News and World Report.

The 2022-23 Best Nursing Home ratings by U.S. News evaluated over 15,000 nursing homes throughout the country and rated most of them in two different areas: short-term rehabilitation and long-term care. Salude ranked as “High-Performing” in short-term rehabilitation.

This rating evaluates eligible nursing homes in the care for people in need of skilled nursing or rehabilitation services following hospitalization for surgery, heart attack, stroke, injury or other conditions. The data used to evaluate facilities comes from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and includes metrics for nurse staffing, patient outcomes, facility complaints, patient safety and rehabilitation therapy. For a complete breakdown of the 2022-23 rating methodology, click here.

“Receiving a High Performing ranking and being named among the best facilities in the country is an acknowledgement of our healthcare professionals and their hard work. At Salude, we aim to provide better health outcomes, enhanced recovery and a safe transition home in a state-of-the-art environment,” said Dr. Alan L. Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP, Salude’s CEO.

Salude Named Among the Best Nursing Homes by U.S. News and World Report for Fourth Year in a Row

For the fourth year in a row, Salude was named a leading nursing home in the United States for short-term rehabilitation care by U.S. News and World Report.

Salude was recognized as being among the elite 13% of skilled nursing facilities that earned a coveted “High Performing” rating, met the 75% staff vaccination rate for COVID-19, and therefore was considered as high performing in short-term rehabilitation.

This rating evaluates a facility’s quality of post-acute care for patients recovering from a hospital stay, such as after stroke, heart attack, infection or accidental injury. The data used to evaluate facilities comes from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and includes metrics for nurse staffing, COVID-19 staff vaccination rates, patient outcomes, facility complaints and rehabilitation therapy. For a complete breakdown of the 2021-22 rating methodology, click here.

“Being recognized among the best in Georgia and the United States validates the hard work of our healthcare professionals, especially in the age of COVID-19,” said Dr. Alan L. Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP, Salude’s CEO. Salude strives to always do the right thing for their patients, which is evident in its mission to provide improved health outcomes, enhanced recovery and a safe transition home by delivering clinical excellence in a state-of-the-art healing environment.

COVID-19 Precautions

Salude is being proactive to address the current COVID-19 risk to persons who reside, visit and work in a healthcare facility. Infection prevention and control is always a top priority, and as a result, our nursing team already has infection prevention and control training. We fully understand the national healthcare concerns related to COVID-19, and we take it seriously.

We have a plan to coordinate with our county health department to address any concern, and we adhere to the infection prevention and control guidelines and recommendations issued by the CDC and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS). Similar to the precautions that are being taken across the country in our industry, we have an internal task force and are actively educating and equipping our team to implement multiple available precautionary measures in an effort to help maintain the health and safety our patients and staff.

In accordance with state and national long-term care healthcare guidance, Salude welcomes visitors to our facility. Please note that visitors must follow infection control practices, including, but not limited to, COVID-19 screening, using personal protective equipment (PPE), wearing a mask and practicing physical distancing when possible.

Our heartfelt thoughts go out to anyone affected at this time.

To learn more about our COVID-19 and infection prevention and control measures, please see the materials below.  Note: this is only a representative sample of our comprehensive and proactive approach to address the risk of infections. We are providing this information to inform the public and the communities we serve. Individual circumstances may vary and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

At this time, Salude is taking several steps to support the health and safety of our patients and staff. Some of the actions we are taking include implementation of the following:

• CMS and CDC Guidelines and Instructions
• Monitoring all employees, including temperature recordings; employees are obligated to report signs/symptoms that develop as well as relevant exposure and travel history
• CMS guidelines for visitors and recommended screening, physical distancing and PPE usage
• COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Manual
  • Our manual includes an Emergency Preparations Plan with a Pandemic Response Plan
  • Includes guidance for addressing suspected and confirmed COVID-19 infections
• CDC Signage for hygiene and hand-washing instructions, CDC recommendations for COVID-19 precautions, infection prevention and control, and advisories to visitors
• Screening competencies, check lists, resources
• Letters and notifications to employees and families
• Respiratory check list
• Telemedicine virtual screening
• CMS’s infection control critical element pathways
• New patient admissions and referral sources

Salude and Aegis Therapies Partner with the University of Colorado for Rehabilitation Pilot Project

Salude is partnering with the University of Colorado to conduct a pilot project supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The project will focus on recent evidence on the effectiveness of high intensity rehabilitation for older adults with a complex medical history. It will seek to transform the lives of older adults by helping clinics integrate the latest evidence-based rehabilitation strategies into routine practice.

Aegis Therapies, the provider of rehabilitation services at Salude, has been partnering with the University of Colorado for the last several years to identify best practices for implementing recent evidence for a high-intensity rehabilitation paradigm to better serve medically complex older adults. Moving the partnership forward, Salude and the therapists from Aegis will participate in a 2021 pilot project supported by the NIH Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network.

During the implementation of high intensity rehabilitation at this site, key stakeholders—from frontline clinicians to administrators—will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of streamlined data collection tools and processes integrated with staff workflows. These insights and procedures will then be used in a multi-year, multi-site NIH R01 that will assess outcomes of implementing high-intensity rehabilitation at Aegis Therapies on a larger scale.

This work overall aims to close the translation gap between research evidence and clinical practice to further enhance the therapy provided to patients at Aegis affiliated sites. “This is a very exciting project, and we’re thrilled to partner with the innovative team at the University of Colorado to further improve patient outcomes,” said Dr. Alan L. Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP, Salude’s CEO.

Salude Named Best of Gwinnett® Winner for the Fourth Consecutive Year

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA (February 23, 2021) – For four straight years, Salude has been recognized as a Best of Gwinnett® winner for Transitional Care and Rehab Facilities in Gwinnett Magazine’s annual readers’ poll.

Best of Gwinnett winners and nominees are chosen by a combination of readers’ votes and editors’ input. The process starts with a nomination on BestofGwinnett.com, and voting remains open for 10 months. Gwinnett Magazine has created more than 20 business and community categories, and tens of thousands of voters cast their votes each year for businesses that have greatly impacted them. “Best of Gwinnett” is the highest designation given to the business that brings in the highest amount of votes for their category.

“There are so many categories that Gwinnett has to offer, and we’re pleased to be recognized for the fourth year in a row. On behalf of everyone at Salude, we’d like to thank our patients, their families and our community partners who took the time to vote for us,” said Dee Desai, MHA, MBA, LNHA, Salude’s Executive Director.

Salude Receives 2020 AHCA/NCAL Bronze National Quality Award

Salude was recently given a Bronze— Commitment to Quality Award by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL).

AHCA/NCAL strives to make the long-term, post-acute care sector at the quality forefront of our nation’s health care delivery system and remains steadfast in supporting skilled nursing care centers. The National Quality Award Program provides a pathway for providers of long-term care to journey towards performance excellence.

By receiving a Bronze award, Salude is recognized as taking the first step on this pathway by developing systematic, sustainable, and person-centered care and services. In addition, it recognizes that Salude is committed to learning how to better meet the needs and expectations of residents and their families, employees, and the community.

“We’re grateful to have been recognized by AHCA/NCAL with this award and are dedicated to continuing our mission of providing the highest quality of care in a state-of-the-art environment,” said Dee Desai, MHA, MBA, LNHA, Salude’s Executive Director.

U.S. News and World Report Named Salude Among the Best Nursing Homes in the United States

For the third year in a row, Salude was recognized as a leading nursing home in the United States for short-term rehabilitation care by U.S. News and World Report.

The 2020-21 Best Nursing Home ratings by U.S. News evaluated over 15,000 nursing homes, with separate ratings for short-term rehabilitation care and long-term chronic care. Salude received an overall rating of five out of five and has a short-term rehabilitation rating of High Performing.

This rating evaluates a facility’s quality of post-acute care for patients recovering from a hospital stay, such as after stroke, heart attack, infection or accidental injury. The data used to evaluate facilities comes from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and includes metrics for nurse staffing, patient outcomes, facility complaints and rehabilitation therapy. For a complete breakdown of the 2020-21 rating methodology, click here.

“To receive a High Performing ranking and to be recognized among the best in Georgia and the United States validates all of our healthcare professionals’ hard work. At Salude, we strive to always do the right thing for patients and provide improved health outcomes, enhanced recovery and a safe transition home,” said Dr. Alan L. Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP, Salude’s CEO.

Health and Safety of Patients and Staff During COVID-19 Risk

Salude is being proactive to address the current COVID-19 risk to persons who reside, visit and work in a healthcare facility. Infection prevention and control is always a top priority, and as a result our nursing team already has infection prevention and control training. We fully understand the national healthcare concerns related to COVID-19, and we take it seriously.

We have a plan to coordinate with our county health department to address any concerns, and we adhere to the infection prevention and control guidelines and recommendations issued by the CDC and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Similar to the precautions that are being taken across the country in our industry, we have an internal task force and are actively educating and equipping our team to implement multiple available precautionary measures in an effort to help maintain the health and safety our patients and staff.

In accordance with state and national long-term care healthcare recommendations, we are currently restricting visitors to essential personnel. We have notified our families and will update them on any significant developments. Essential personnel are being screened using a detailed questionnaire and non-invasive assessments.

Our heartfelt thoughts go out to anyone affected at this time.

To learn more about our COVID-19 and infection prevention and control measures please see the materials below. Note: this is only a representative sample of our comprehensive and proactive approach to address the risk of infections. We are providing this information to inform the public and the communities we serve. Individual circumstances may vary and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

At this time, Salude is taking several steps to support the health and safety of our patients and staff. Some of the actions we are taking include implementation of the following:

• CMS and CDC Guidelines and Instructions
• Monitoring all employees, including temperature recordings; employees are obligated to report signs/symptoms that develop as well as relevant exposure and travel history
• CMS guidelines for visitors: restricting all visitors with the exception of essential personnel; essential personnel undergo CDC and CMS recommended screening requirements.
• COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Manual
  • Our manual includes Emergency Preparations Plan with a Pandemic Response Plan
  • Includes guidance for addressing suspected and confirmed COVID-19 infections
• CDC Signage for hygiene and hand-washing instructions, CDC recommendations for COVID-19 precautions, infection prevention and control, and advisories to visitors
• Screening competencies, check lists, resources
• Letters and notifications to employees and families
• Respiratory check list
• Telemedicine virtual screening
• CMS’s infection control critical element pathways
• New patient admissions and referral sources