Quicker, easier
transfers
San Joaquin Community Hospital
(SJCH) has established a One-Call
Transfer Center, streamlining the
process for staff to take physician
referral calls for consultations, di-
rect hospital admissions and more.
Simply put, the One-Call
Transfer Center at SJCH offers
doctors an efficient process and
patients a higher level of care.
As the name suggests, with
just one call, a referring physician
can be connected to a specialist,
if needed, and the call center staff
will handle other details, including
hospital admission.
“Our goal is that the refer-
ring physician or facility only has
to make one call and we’ll take
care of the rest,” said Michelle
Hartshorn, director of the Brain
and Spine Institute at SJCH and
director of the One-Call Transfer
Center. “SJCH recognized this
need and took actions to resolve
it, bringing better service to
physicians and better care for
patients.”
The One-Call Transfer
Center employs 10
people, including a bed
control specialist and
an RN, who are available
for physicians and other
health care facilities
24/7, 365 days a year.
They coordinate the
various logistics
involved in moving
patients, whether
from an accident
scene, another
emergency room
for more special-
ized care or even
directly from a
physician’s office.
can broaden the reach of neurolo-
gists in a cost-effective and time-
efficient manner.
In essence, a telestroke partner-
ship program—such as the agreement
with SJCH, Delano Regional Medical
Center and Ridgecrest
Regional Hospital—
provides a
valuable, life-
saving capa-
bility to our
community.
them specialize in stroke, accord-
ing to the ASA.
“We want patients in our entire
county to have the benefit of rapid
assessment by a board-certified
neurologist who specializes in
stroke care to make the deter-
mination as to whether
or not to treat,” said
Michelle Hartshorn,
director of the
Brain and Spine
Institute at
SJCH. “Our
telestroke pro-
gram makes
that possible.”
Telestroke
is coupled
with tele-
radiology,
which allows
remote re-
view of brain
images. This
technology
• Health Matters
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