SLCNA Report February 2020 - Report - Page 26
IX. Summary of Findings
Identified Need: Access to Care/Transportation
Access to care was a common theme throughout the key stakeholder and consumer focus groups.
The participants discussed many options within the community to support a healthy lifestyle and
promote proactive medical care; however, participants felt that the service providers and network was
uncoordinated and providers were operating independently. The secondary data profile did not indicate a
significant number of individuals within Cumberland/Perry counties that did not report having a primary
healthcare provider (3.0%); however, several consumers reported that their primary care physicians have
transitioned to only offering concierge services.
Transportation was also discussed by both the stakeholder and consumer focus groups as a significant
barrier to living a healthy lifestyle. Situations that were discussed included the lack of available
transportation in rural communities and the cost and the reliability/safety of ride-sharing options such as
Uber and Lyft. Providers noted that many of their patients/residents who have appointments or surgeries
do not have someone to escort them which may cause issues with follow up and compliance. Also, the
timing of public transportation options are challenging for individuals with mental health diagnosis or
those on oxygen.
Identified Need: Care Coordination
The stakeholders felt that many seniors find it challenging to coordinate their care among providers,
especially when seeing specialists and/or taking multiple medications, and providers may sometimes
lack the ability to provide continuity of care. The consumer groups felt communication between hospitals
and/or health systems is poor within the region. And the stakeholder groups felt the “hand offs” were
particularly disjointed, noting that these providers do not communicate with each other. Some quotes
included, “medical records do not follow the patient” and “doctors will not go to specific hospitals.”
Additionally, the consensus felt getting an appointment with a specialist, such as a dermatologist,
rheumatologist, ENTs, and others was challenging.
Formalizing coordination between hospitals, health care providers, and social service agencies was
suggested to promote communication and collaboration.
Some of the observations/recommendations from the stakeholders include:
• Industry providers need to advocate and encourage organizations to partner and/or collaborate to
better serve older adults.
• Sometimes [providers] “trip over each other, duplicate efforts, or muddy the waters” for those we
serve. We must improve our communication across the industry and avoid “siloed” efforts to create
more effective partnerships and synergy.
• Furthermore, as stakeholders we must also increase our knowledge base of the available services,
programs, and funding. In turn, we can do a better job educating the community, and referring,
partnering, and collaborating with other providers.
• Lastly, trade/membership organizations can help build camaraderie between providers to stoke
communication and collaboration.
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