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Call9 Helps SNF Partner Achieve Maximum Bonus for Value-Based Purchasing ProgramCall9, a telehealth pioneer for the nursing home industry, responded today to new data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that provides facility-specific performance information for the fiscal year 2019 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program. Central Island Healthcare (CIH) in Plainview, NY-the first facility Call9 partnered with-was one of only 3% of SNFs to receive the maximum bonus of 1.6% for improved 30-day readmission rates back to hospitals. CMS compared a baseline period of calendar year (CY) 2015 with a performance period of CY 2017 to determine whether a facility received a bonus or penalty. Of the nearly 15,000 SNFs included in the program, only 27% received a bonus, and 73% were penalized. Since its implementation in 2015, Call9 has worked in partnership with CIHstaff to provide a superior level of care for residents who might have previously been sent to the Emergency Department with conditions that Call9's solution treats in place. Central Island experienced a 44% reduction in hospital transfers as a result of Call9, which provides technology that connects embedded emergency-trained first responders-who work on-site in the facility 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year-to remote Emergency Medicine providers to deliver care at the bedside for patients experiencing an acute change of condition. Timothy C. Peck, MD, Call9's Cofounder and CEO, released the following statement: The recent data released by CMS regarding the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program identified that nearly two-thirds of skilled nursing facilities were penalized for poor 30-day readmission rates. This reflects the shift to value in Medicare reimbursement that will only be taking greater hold in the coming years. Call9 is proud to partner with Central Island Healthcare, our first SNF, with whom we were working with throughout all of 2017. That CIH is one of only 3% of SNFs to have received the maximum bonus reflects the strength of our partnership and the quality of Call9's solution in helping facilities reduce unnecessary transfers and achieve a greater census of patients. As Medicare continues to search for decreased costs and improved care, the shift to value will only grow. The ability for nursing homes to care for patients in place, both by lowering 30-day readmits and providing less discontinuity of care, becomes even more important. Call9 is excited to continue working with CIH and other like-minded SNF partners to deliver value to patients and to the healthcare system. Michael Ostreicher, Executive Director of Central Island Healthcare, contributed this statement: Call9's impact on our patient care has been dramatic. In conjunction with our team of dedicated staff, Call9's technology and services solution allows for vastly improved coverage for our residents, which results in better outcomes for them, less stress for their families and more resident days for CIH, all at a lower cost to the healthcare system. We are thrilled to be identified as one of the best SNFs in the country in terms of the value we've delivered to the system and to our residents, and we are grateful for the Call9 team for the many ways they drive value to our facility on a daily basis. About Call9 Call9 provides Emergency Medicine without brick and mortar limitations. Call9 humanizes telemedicine by connecting on-site, emergency-trained first responders to remote physicians, delivering care to patients at their bedside in nursing homes and rehabs. The company's embedded care model approach is a replacement of 911 and subsequent hospitalizations and readmissions, lowering healthcare costs while improving care outcomes. Learn more at call9.com.
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