Conduit’s solution to address Unity Care NW staffing shortages, streamline patient care, relieve on-call teams
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Unity Care NW (UCNW) is launching a 24/7 nurse triage service in collaboration with Conduit Health Partners for residents of northwest Washington communities serviced by a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). This expansion of access to quality health care, which is slated to begin in Jan. 2023, connects FQHC residents to experienced registered nurses to listen to every caller’s needs and offer timely clinical expertise, directing callers to the appropriate level of care at any time of day or night.
Conduit Health Partners will provide its nurse-first model that combines Schmitt-Thompson support tools and clinical expertise to deliver safe recorded telephonic assessments that lead to quality care advice and best-practice recommendations based on each patient’s unique needs. Additionally, Conduit’s collaboration with UCNW will help to drive operational improvement for UCNW by better understanding access points and enabling the health system to work more effectively with providers accepting new patients, all supported by industry-leading data and analytics.
“We are thrilled to bring Conduit’s nurse-first triage services to northwest Washington through our partnership with Unity Care NW,” said Cheryl Dalton-Norman, president, Conduit Health Partners. “Through this collaboration, Conduit serves as an extension of the Unity Care NW team, connecting patients to the care they need, when they need it. This improves access to care while reducing unnecessary health care costs and ensures the great care offered by Unity Care NW is supported by access to highly-skilled registered nurses 24/7. Unity Care NW’s vision that everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life, and their mission to increase the years of healthy life in the people and communities they serve, makes this partnership especially exciting for Conduit.”
UCNW is an FQHC in Washington State. FQHCs are federally funded nonprofit health centers, or clinics, that service traditionally underserved populations. FQHCs provide primary care, dental and behavioral health services regardless of the ability to pay traditional costs, pricing their services on a patient-by-patient basis.
Through its sites in Bellingham and Ferndale, the non-profit health system serves approximately 21,000 patients and has over 300 associates. Conduit’s Nurse Triage solution will allow UCNW’s clinical staff to better focus their time and energy on the mission-critical work of care management at the point of care.
“We are excited for our partnership with Conduit Health to be able to bring more timely access to quality nurse triage and nurse advice for our patients,” said Shanon Hardie, chief operations officer of Unity Care NW. “We particularly like Conduit Health’s Nurse First Model, which means our patients get to speak with a nurse when they call in.”
This collaboration and use of Conduit’s nurse triage staff will allow UCNW clinicians to focus on their core capabilities, thereby optimizing resources where they are needed most and enabling UCNW to grow in line with its core services.
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About Conduit Health Partners
Conduit Health Partners is a health care solutions company that connects patients and employees to the care they need, when they need it, through customized services in patient transfer, nurse triage, remote patient monitoring, including hospital at-home and patient outreach. With innovation at the forefront, Conduit is an operational partner that improves care and access for health systems, provider groups, health plans and employers via cost-effective, efficient solutions delivered by more than 200 nurses serving over 200 locations in 47 states. Conduit has improved access to care for more than 1.7 million people since its inception in 2017. Learn more at www.conduithp.com.
About Unity Care NW
The mission of Unity Care NW (UCNW) is to increase the years of healthy life in the people and communities we serve. UCNW is a federally-qualified health center with sites in Bellingham and Ferndale. Established in 1982, the non-profit organization provides medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to over 22,000 Whatcom County residents who consider Unity Care NW their medical home. Services are available for all people regardless of their ability to pay.