Health Care Innovation Awards: Ochsner Clinic Foundation Project Profile

Project Title: "Comprehensive stroke care model through the continuum of care"
Geographic Reach: Louisiana
Funding Amount: $3,867,944
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $4,900,000

Summary

Ochsner Clinic Foundation received an Innovation Award to provide improved care to almost 1,000 acute care stroke patients in Jefferson and St. Tammany Parishes in Louisiana.  This project will employ model stroke management techniques and quality assurance that is facilitated by telemedicine technology. In addition to utilizing telemedicine for acute stroke management, an in-hospital team of trained Advanced Practice Nurses called "Stroke Central" will enable care providers to monitor patients, evaluate outcomes, and check on medication and treatment adherence on a real time basis.  Post hospital care will be facilitated in the home by a trained Nurse and Lay Health Educator Team called "Stroke Mobile" and will focus on recovery and risk factor management to prevent stroke recurrence. Facilitated by telemedicine, these processes will allow care providers to provide real-time and proactive monitoring of their patients, improve acute stroke management, improve patients' and caregivers' quality of life, lower costs by reducing complications from urinary tract infections and pneumonia, prevent readmissions, and replace outpatient visits. These novel processes will save an estimated $5 million over the life of the grant. Over the three-year period, Ochsner Clinic Foundation's program will train multidisciplinary providers and will create an estimated 12 new jobs. These workers will provide teleconsultation, assessment, and monitoring support for stroke care.

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