Nurse in the Family
Care Managers
Director: Gale Kieth
For Information: 620-252-1519
Patients at CRMC have a unique addition to their patient care team. We call the nurses Care Managers. A care manager nurse works with specific doctors to coordinate care and provide care and teaching.
A hospital stay can be very stressful! Not only do patients have to face illness, and discomfort of treatment, but it may seem like staff speaks a foreign language. The care manager role is designed to better serve patients by being a point of contact for the patient, the family, other staff and the doctors. The nurses are full time, very experienced and focused on the needs of the patients, especially in the area of knowledge about disease, or illness, and what is needed to care for oneself after dismissal from the hospital. If you have any questions, the best nurse to ask is the care manager. Pictured are: (standing left to right) Kathy, Monica and Dona; (seated left to right) Cathy, Janis, Ann and Lorie.
If you can understand what it is like to have a "nurse in the family" you can better understand what the care manager can do for the patient and family. People often will ask a nurse in their family to help them understand what is needed and what is happening. The Care Manager will become the "nurse in the family" for our patients and can be counted on to communicate and collaborate with the doctor and other staff to know the patient better.
Each patient is seen at least once daily by his or her Care Manager who will evaluate progress, review the medical record, and collaborate with the physician and nursing staff. If the patient is transferred within the hospital, the care manager follows them. If the physician is on a day off, the care manager can help the physician who is covering to know what is needed. These nurse Care Managers will be the primary contact for patients, family members and physicians when there are questions about care.
Care Management has provided our patients with a better experience and understanding of their medical care and sense of security that someone knows them well. Care Management helps to eliminate many of the frustrations involved in hospitalization so that our patients can concentrate on just getting well.