Written for Chad Tuttle, Senior Vice President, Spectrum Health West Michigan, Hospital/Post-Acute Operations
Last quarter, Select Specialty Hospital - Spectrum Health – located within Blodgett Hospital – was ranked No. 1 nationally among Select Medical’s Long Term Acute Care Hospitals (LTACHs) for ventilator wean rate, which is the process of removing a patient from mechanical ventilation support.
The national benchmark for ventilator weaning is 59%, a figure Select Specialty Hospital - Spectrum Health has consistently outperformed. By liberating 42 of its 44 patients, the hospital finished the quarter at an impressive 96%.
“The main purpose of getting to an LTACH is liberating patients from ventilators,” said Wael Berjaoui, MD, Respiratory Director, Select Specialty Hospital - Spectrum Health. “Simply being discharged from the ICU is by no means the end of the battle for our patients. That's why this metric is so meaningful."
Dr. Berjaoui also cites the COVID-19 pandemic as an additional hurdle. “Most of our patients are COVID-positive, so resources and staff are stretched thin,” he said. “I think it speaks volumes to be able to achieve this ranking given all these challenges surrounding us.”
Select Medical operates 99 LTACHs across 26 states, including this one. Spectrum Health’s LTACH is designed for patients who need comprehensive care for more than 25 days due to multiple injuries, trauma or medical complications.
“I look at LTACH as a very misunderstood level of care,” said Russell Burgdorf III, Respiratory Therapy Manager of Select Specialty Hospital - Spectrum Health. “It's that little slice of health care where patients take their first steps again, say their first words again or are waking up. It's a phenomenal thing to witness.”
Unique to Select Specialty Hospital is its connection to the greater Spectrum Health system. Most LTACHs are independent from their host partner. However, Spectrum Health and Select Medical entered into a joint venture partnership in 2017 to provide this distinctive level of care.
“It's a complementary, symbiotic relationship that uses the best resources on both sides: Select Specialty Hospital and Spectrum Health Medical Group,” said Dr. Berjaoui. “Patients know that when they come to LTACH from an ICU, they are being cared for by a top-notch respiratory team, and the same team that first took care of them. It's more of a continuation rather than a discharge to a different entity.”
After achieving the wean rate ranking, Spectrum Health’s LTACH team is hard at work on its next goal: being designated a Select Medical Pulmonary Center of Excellence. “I think we’re really close to achieving the tile,” said Dr. Berjaoui. “But we mainly want to continue to serve our community.”
Dr. Berjaoui and Burgdorf credit the Select Specialty - Spectrum Health respiratory team, pulmonary partners and APP teams, bedside nurses, rehabilitation staff and nutritionists for the wean rate ranking. Dr. Berjaoui and Burgdorf also extend thanks to Select Specialty Hospital and Spectrum Health Medical Group’s leadership for providing the resources to make it happen.
Dr. Berjaoui and Burgdorf celebrate the ranking at a party held for the LTACH team.