By Denise Williams | News & Views
An acute care hospital tucked into a tiny and unassuming nook of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber (CSSMCW) quickly reached capacity in the midst of the COVID-19 chaos. The independent, nonprofit facility was swamped for weeks as nearby hospitals began diverting COVID patients there, quickly filling all 54 beds.
Even after discharge from CSSMCW and other facilities, many COVID survivors have been unable to shake debilitating respiratory symptoms from the disease, including persistent shortness of breath. Fortunately, a new policy took effect on January 1, 2022, to assist them in their ongoing recovery. Under the measure, Medicare agrees to shoulder the cost of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) for individuals who have lingering respiratory dysfunction four or more weeks after presenting with symptoms of COVID-19.
When they got wind of the change via AACVPR in early December, the PR staff at CSSMCW – Tonya Imler, CRT and April Hicks, RRT – sprang into action. They immediately saw a need to spread the news about widened access to rehab, starting with physicians. The pair anticipated that patients, too, might be unaware of the option or might mistakenly rule themselves out as ineligible. Contrary to what both patients and providers might expect, an individual may qualify even if he or she was never hospitalized for COVID. Participants don’t even have to produce a positive test as proof; presumptive cases are accepted under the PR order as well.
Hoping to dispel any wrong assumptions and reach as many affected individuals as possible, Hicks and Imler masterminded a marketing blitz to promote the new post-COVID prescription. Drawing on their own creativity, they came up with the content for two separate fliers – one targeting doctors and a different version aimed at patients.
Pat Comoss, RN, BS, MAACVPR, who works as a consultant to CSSMCW’s PR program, was delighted when Imler and Hicks ran the draft materials by her for review and feedback. “They recognized the importance of this new diagnosis,” she said, “and they were so eager to get the word out there.”
After Comoss helped the therapists fine-tune the technical language in the documents, CSSMCW’s marketing department got in on the action, helping to dress up the flyer design and getting the finished products posted to the hospital’s website and Facebook page as well as on other social media platforms. The marketing pros even worked up a press release for distribution to the local newspaper, which interviewed the two respiratory therapists for a story. In addition, physical handouts were mailed or faxed to offices and distributed to urgent-care facilities. In order to get the information in front of patients, the literature was plastered in elevators and waiting rooms.
Not only did the marketing effort serve an important informational purpose, bringing both healthcare professionals and the public up to speed on a key development, but Comoss also commends Imler and Hicks for what she considers a shrewd business maneuver. Some doctors had been sending their post-COVID patients to pop-up clinics instead of to PR – which offers many of the same services but previously lacked Medicare coverage. As of the first of the year, Comoss explained, “there is an opportunity where one didn’t exist before” to capture some of those patients. Imler and Hicks “wanted to connect that news [of the diagnosis] to their program,” she added, “to let people know ‘We’re here. We know about this, and we’re ready to take your patients.’”
Their initiative paid off. The cost of paper and advertising was a fair tradeoff, Imler and Hicks agree, for the subsequent increase in referrals to the PR department. In fewer than three months, the team has received 15 post-COVID conditions.