We go to great lengths to stay in touch with our patients who are hospitalized—we have routine process in place to communicate with hospitals and stay on top of who is admitted and have a staff person dedicated to just that.
WHAT IS A HOSPITALIST?
A hospitalist is a physician whose practice is focused on hospital patients instead of clinic patients. They are usually trained in internal medicine or family practice. The hospital is their workplace and they are very familiar with the systems and operations there, and they communicate with your primary care physician and specialists (if applicable) during your hospital stay. In Las Cruces we have two groups of hospitalist. Both groups work with Southwest Center on Aging during your admission at Memorial Medical Center and Mountain View Regional Medical Center. The local hospitalists:
Team Health
Memorial Medical Center
Apogee Physicians
Mountain View Regional Medical Center
If you are admitted to the hospital, be sure to let your hospitalist know:
That Southwest Center on Aging is your regular primary care provider
All of the medications you take or treatments you regularly have
Any medical conditions and allergies you may have
AFTER YOU ARE DISCHARGED
When you are released from the hospital, the hospitalist will provide a discharge summary that will tell us about the care you received in the hospital. We will contact you within 24-48 hours after your discharge. In the event that you don't hear from us first, please have a spouse, family member, or caregiver call to let us know, and we will initiate our process right away. To decrease the chances of readmission we will ask you to come in with 7-14 days after discharge for an appointment. If you are released and are in a facility, we will go see you within the 7-14 day time frame.