MRHC to open Transitional Care Clinic
A new clinic at McAlester Regional Health Center will help patients after hospitalization who may need special attention and resources to make the transition from hospital to home more successful.
The new Transitional Care Clinic will be on the MRHC Campus and will be staffed by an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse who is board-certified in Family Practice. Leah Torbett, APRN, FNP-BC, most recently worked for the Muskogee Creek Nation as a clinic Nurse Practitioner.
“I will be meeting with patients who need post-acute care following discharge from the hospital and before their first doctor’s visit,” Torbett explained. “We will discuss disease management, medications and side effects. Our goal is to ensure patients understand their plan of care and can identify any red flags that may indicate their condition is worsening, which could lead to a hospital readmission.”
Other services provided by the clinic will include follow-up diagnostic testing and treatments, referrals to other healthcare providers and community services.
The clinic is not a replacement for a patient’s primary care provider, Torbett said, but is meant to serve as a supplement, especially in those first days after a patient leaves the hospital. The Transitional Care Clinic will work closely with the primary care provider and provide them with information regarding the hospitalization and the transition into the home setting.
“We will visit with them within 2 days of discharge, and we will follow up with them for about 30 days to ensure they are following their plan of care as established by their doctor on discharge from the hospital, or their primary doctor,” Torbett said.
The clinic will also serve as a bridge for elderly patients and those who do not already have a doctor. MRHC Chief Nursing Officer Kim Stout said such patients are often at a higher risk for readmission to the hospital.
“Transitional Care will ensure we discharge our patient to the most appropriate program and then follow up with them and their doctor,” Stout said. In the event a patient doesn’t have a doctor, Torbett can help find a provider for their long-term care.
Stout said MRHC welcomes Torbett and the new Transitional Care program.
“We are very eager to bring Leah on board to lead our new clinic, and I know this new service will make a big difference in the healthcare we are providing for our patients,” Stout said.
Torbett has also worked in nursing education, home health, labor & delivery and women’s health. She was a nursing program instructor at Oklahoma State University’s Okmulgee campus and holds degrees from Graceland University in Missouri (Nurse Practitioner), Southern Nazarene University (Master of Nursing Education) and OSU-Tulsa (Bachelor of Science in Nursing).
The Transitional Care Clinic is scheduled to open in May in the same building as Urgent Care and Working Well, at 3 Clark Bass Blvd. The building is accessed off Monroe Avenue near Strong Boulevard. To make an appointment or to reach Torbett call 918-421-6029.
MRHC is a regional 171-bed general acute care public trust hospital serving a region comprised of eight counties in Southeast Oklahoma. With more than 700 employees, the hospital offers a wide array of clinics, and ancillary and outpatient programs.