Dear Colleagues,
I had the honor of attending a huddle at our Integrated Medicine Unit at University Hospital late last year, and I’d like to share my takeaways from visiting the unit.
- The Integrated Medicine Unit is a busy unit. Located on the third floor of University Hospital, the teams here cares for patients with some of the most difficult health issues, such as: dementia, encephalopathy, drug/alcohol withdrawal, traumatic brain injuries and more. On the day I visited, all 20 beds were full.
- The team is efficient. The huddle I attended was led by Ashley Baysinger, RN, service line clinical supervisor. They gave an excellent example of how they conduct a shift change, and they are very well organized. During the huddle, Ashley recited the three R’s, which I’ve heard in other huddles: recognize, remove and report. The three Rs are a housewide initiative to help staff be mindful of the signs of abuse or neglect of a patient.
- Integrated Medicine is a specialty floor that provides comprehensive medical care to patients with an acute medical diagnosis and meet the at-risk criteria. They are available to serve eligible patients throughout the health system. If you have a patient that you feel would benefit from the unit’s unique milieu and environment, please reach out to the Integrated Medicine (3West) charge or supervisor and they can discuss next steps with you. Patients who are at risk include: risk of harm to self/others, incapacitation or incompetence, Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) score of 3 or greater, on/or under evaluation for a 96-hour hold, or a resident of a nursing home, mental health facility, residential treatment center or correction facility.
I cannot express how proud I am of all the physicians, nurses and care team associates who work so hard every day to take care of our patients.
Sincerely,
Rick Barohn, MD
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
University of Missouri
rbarohn@health.missouri.edu
