California Freemason - December/January 2016

You are in a hospital room after surgery, waiting to be released. You are exhausted. Your family is exhausted. You are ready for fresh food and a comfortable chair; warm lighting and even a widescreen TV. Of course, you would like nothing more than to go home. But before you can return to normal life, you must spend a few weeks recovering in a rehabilitation facility. So, you at least hope to reclaim some of home’s comforts – and to receive the kind of care that gets you there soonest.

This is the expectation behind a new short-stay rehabilitation floor at the Masonic Home at Union City. Known as Transitions, it is the product of the fraternity’s vision of care and a new community partnership.

The experience it offers compared to
most other short-stay care facilities
is like that of a private jet compared
to a commercial airline: Both can get
you from Point A to Point B. But with
the new Transitions, there are fewer
delays, and far more comforts.

VISIONARY CARE

The Union City Masonic Home has long provided short-term skilled nursing to both Masonic Homes and Acacia Creek residents recovering from surgery, illness, and accidents. But it was only offered within the general skilled nursing floor, sharing space and staff with year-round skilled nursing residents. In recent years, residents began asking for a dedicated unit just for short-term care.

In 2014, the Homes reached
out to the local health care system,
Washington Hospital, to start map-
ping out a plan. This relationship
would shape the new Transitions
floor, and serve as an opener to an
ongoing partnership.

After a year and a half of conversations, planning, and renovations, the new Transitions floor welcomed its first patients in August of 2015, providing specialized care for cardiac, orthopedic, stroke, and neurosurgical rehabilitation. This care is offered to Homes and Acacia Creek residents, as well as Masons and non-Masons from outside the Homes campus (an agreement that allows the program to meet census and funding requirements). The remodeled floor includes 17 private patient rooms, a dining room, and a well-equipped fitness center. The staff-to-patient ratio is much higher than that of most skilled nursing units, and on the whole, higher credentialed. (All Transitions nurses are registered nurses (RNs). The typical patient stay is just 10 to 18 days, so staff has been trained for fast and frequent coordination with medical insurance and social services. A care manager was recruited to help with care decisions, and a social services manager to lead discharge planning. Within 48 hours of a patient’s admission, there is a team meeting to bring all these pieces together.

“It’s different from other places that I’ve worked,” says Marlou Canosa, RN and Transitions unit supervisor. “We have the opportunity to get to know our patients well. We can actually provide the one-on-one care that each patient deserves.” And because of the open line of communication between residents and administration, he says,