Salude Ranked #1 by CMS’ New Value-Based Purchasing Quality Initiative

ATLANTA, GA (December 14, 2018) – In October this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated a new program aimed to reduce patient readmission to acute care hospitals in the 30 days following discharge from a skilled nursing facility. It was announced in November that out of over 15,000 participating Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities, Salude was ranked #1 in performance.

The Value-Based Purchasing initiative will demand that skilled nursing facilities meet certain performance benchmarks or face penalties. Nearly 73% of skilled nursing facilities can expect to see a reduction in Medicare reimbursement based on the data collected by CMS. However, Salude’s ranking of #1 indicates exemplary performance in preventing patient readmissions to the hospital in a 2015 to 2017 data comparison, as well as a potential to remain high-performing this fiscal year.

"Salude is ecstatic to be ranked #1 in the country by CMS regarding readmissions to the hospital,” says Salude CEO, Dr. Alan Wang, MD, SFHM, FACP. “Salude’s 64-bed innovative ‘transitionist’ clinical model is designed to provide the best physician, nursing, and therapy services in a state-of-the-art environment, which further perpetuates each patient’s potential for success upon discharge,” Dr. Wang continues.

Executive Director, Dee Desai, MBA/MHA, LNHA, wishes to “thank our community partners who have helped institute our groundbreaking patient-centered care approach since Salude’s inception in 2014.”

Salude has many partners that have worked together to develop the model, some of which can be found inside Salude’s walls and others who partner in the community. Inside Salude, Aegis Therapies provides physical, occupational, and speech therapies in a state-of-the-art gym surrounded by glass walls with a direct view of nature. The surroundings are just as therapeutic as the intensive 7 days a week rehabilitation program.

Transitional Care Physicians of America (TCPA) provides nurse practitioners and physician assistants to oversee clinical services and communicate directly with patients and their physicians. Chief Medical Officer of TCPA, Dr. Amar Mohan, says, “The work Salude is doing in our community is not only valuable; it is necessary. Kudos to Salude on this extraordinary achievement. We are proud to be part of this innovative model.”

At the heart of Salude’s patient-centered care is Structured Interdisciplinary Bedside Rounds (SIBR), which brings an expertly-trained care team to the patient and family to advance progress and answer questions together. 1Unit, the clinician-led healthcare company which develops SIBR, provides Salude with everything needed to SIBR-train and SIBR-certify staff. Dr. Jason Stein, CEO and founder of 1Unit, says he is “proud of the interdisciplinary collaboration” he has witnessed at Salude, and “the patient outcomes reflect a unity and unique skill set among staff to provide the best care for each patient.”

Accent Care’s Guardian Home Health and Amedisys Home Health, which follow patients after graduation from the rehabilitation and recovery program, ensure that patients continue on their path of success in a home-based setting.

Dr. Greg Sheff, Accent Care Chief Medical Officer, says, “It is an honor to partner with Salude and to collaborate on a ‘transitionist’ home health model to keep our patients out of the hospital and improve rehabilitative outcomes.”