The University of Maryland Medical Center keeps expanding. On Thursday, they announced the opening of a center that helps people who are chronically ill and may not have access to comprehensive care.
The UMMC Coordinated Care Center aims to improve health and cut down on emergency department visits and re-admissions. It will serve patients who have a chronic diseases, serious illnesses, or require continued care and need help managing their health.
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The Transitional Care Coordination program includes a nurse care coordinator, social worker, pharmacist, and community health worker. Their goal is to connect patients with one of their team members to help coordinate their health care plan and get them on the right track.
“These are people who truly have disorders that need better management. The management cannot be effectively done in an emergency room, and the management, if not done well, will wind up with the patient requiring an additional hospital admission and that's what we're trying to avoid,” said Dr. David Stewart, Chairman of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Dr. Stewart added that not a day will go by where a staff center member doesn't tell a patient, "we're glad you're here."
The new UMMC coordinated care center combined with a new urgent care center are places patients can go without having to go to the ER. Overloaded ERs are a longtime problem, and it's gradually gotten worse.
RELATED: Maryland ER wait times are the worst in the country
The University of Maryland Coordinated Care Center is located at 36 S. Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
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