St. Luke's Hospital's ED Consistent Care Program

Iowa

St. Luke's ED Consistent Care Program aims to reduce non-emergency visits to the Emergency Department by assigning a multidisciplinary care team (comprised of two ED physicians, three nurses, an ED social worker, a social work case manager and the ED director) to patients who have visited the ED more than 12 times in the past 12 months. Care team providers develop personalized care plans for patients, provide referrals to primary care physicians and educate patients on appropriate sites of care for different situations. Case managers work with patients to coordinate care across multiple providers, answer questions and connect patients to needed resources. The program began as a pilot supported by a $50,000 grant from Transamerica.

Partner Organizations

• St. Luke's Hospital
• Iowa Health System
• Transamerica 

Target Population

Individuals with 12 or more ED visits the past 1 year

Care Team

2 ED physicians, 3 nurses, social worker, case manager

Timeframe

2012 - present

Results/ Studies

In the first nine months of the program, St. Luke's reduced the number of ED visits by frequent ED users by more than two-thirds, generating more than $970,000 in savings.

Evaluating a Consistent Care Program for a Hospital Emergency Department to Reduce Frequent Visits (Journal of Health & Human Services Administration, Summer 2017)

Funding

Grant

Resources

Program overview (video)

How a Cedar Rapids Emergency Room Saved Millions, and What it Means for the Whole State (Iowa Public Radio, 2014)

How St. Luke's in Iowa Lowered Non-Emergency ED Visits by Two-Thirds (Becker's Hospital Review, 2013)