Redesign standardizes care coordination.

By centralizing administrative and clerical tasks usually performed by clinical staff, the care coordination department at Sentara Healthcare, with headquarters in Norfolk, VA, has freed the bedside staff to concentrate on case management and discharge planning. RN care coordinators and master's prepared social workers collaborate to manage care on the unit, holding a daily huddle and participating in multidisciplinary rounds. Clerical staff set post-discharge appointments with primary care providers while the patient is still in the hospital. Staff members at a centralized Resource Management Center, created at a new location, are responsible for utilization management, including admissions reviews, continuing stay reviews, and retrospective reviews and facilitation of discharges for patients in all hospitals.