Who is a nursing care coordinator?

Imagine the next situation. Your grandmother was admitted to the hospital a couple of days ago attributable to exacerbation of congestive heart failure and is scheduled to be discharged today. During her admission to the hospital, she was under the care of many specialists, under whom she’s going to need to undergo treatment after discharge, quite a few changes have been made to the medications she takes, and within the near future she’s going to need to undergo physiotherapy at home and undergo laboratory and diagnostic tests. You are at her bedside listening to discharge instructions, and then you definitely take her home. The next day, when you might have so many thoughts in your mind, you will love calling the Nurse Care Coordinator (NCC) to learn how your grandmother is doing and review the discharge paperwork!

This is an actual scenario for thus many patients and their members of the family. Hospitalization may be overwhelming, however the nurse care coordinator is an advocate for the patient and their family members. The nurse care coordinator assists the patient by providing support and helping the patient navigate the medical system to acquire the care and treatment needed to forestall readmission to the hospital.

An NCC is an RN who makes a speciality of organizing patient care and treatment by involving all members of the patient’s care team. NCC often focuses on conditions resembling diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and depression. Overall, NCC helps prevent gaps in patient care and helps transition care. The goals are to enhance patient outcomes, help patients access the care they need (especially specialty care), prevent hospital and emergency room visits, and promote continuity of patient care.

NCC also helps the patient develop a care plan that features the goals they need to attain. This may include checking your blood sugar levels a minimum of thrice a day, checking your hemoglobin A1c level is below 7%, taking your medications as directed, or checking your weight every morning. These goals help keep the patient on course and help them achieve their best health. NCC provides the patient with access to other resources to assist them achieve their goals, resembling social work, behavioral health, and out of doors social support services.

NCCs provide helpful services to patients, their families and the care team in a collaborative manner. NCC centers help patients achieve their goals and ultimately improve their overall health.