Lutheran Living Leads the Way in Health Care Innovation
Lutheran Living has joined Remedy Partners in the development and management of a bundled payment program for Medicare recipients. Promoted by the Affordable Care Act to help replace the traditional fee-for-service healthcare model, this model is intended to help to meet the goals of improving outcomes in care, increasing patient satisfaction and reduce the overall cost of healthcare—and it is gaining momentum.
In bundled payment programs, a fixed price is paid for a wide range of health care services over a specified period of time, known as an “episode of care.” It is among the primary strategies being used to transition away from fee-for-service payments.
Since implementing its first partnership in October 2013, Remedy has bundled payment programs that are live in more than 1,300 healthcare provider sites, including more than 800 hospitals. Remedy’s technology, analytics, training and administrative platform support the implementation and management of bundled payment programs at hospitals, physician groups, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies.
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been aggressively promoting bundled payments as a way to improve quality and reduce the cost of the federal Medicare program. CMS created the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) program through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, as a voluntary demonstration program. Thousands of health care providers have entered the program to prepare for the expected roll-out of a permanent program. In Iowa Lutheran Living is one of only 4 skilled nursing facilities to enter the program to date.
“Organizing the financing and delivery of healthcare services around the patient’s episode of care leads to greater cooperation and more successful outcomes,” said Remedy Chairman Steve Wiggins. “Bundled payments are proving to be one of the most successful methods to shift from fee-for-service toward value-based payments for healthcare services.”
Dave Armstrong, Executive Director, Retires
Dave, Executive Director at Lutheran Living, is retiring October 31, 2019. Dave has been in this profession for 35 years and 11 of those years has been here at Lutheran Living. He has worked in 5 different states: Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota. He also worked in 3 different senior care campuses, one being Lutheran Living Senior Campus. Dave is married to his wife, Laurie and they have 2 children. His plans for retirement is to “enjoy life, golfing, and family time.”
Dave tells us what inspired him to become a Healthcare Administrator, “My mother-in-law was a Director of Nursing and introduced me to senior care.” His favorite things about working in this profession are “residents, families and staff.” He loves seeing the service and care for people throughout the senior care community. His favorite things about Lutheran Living are “the people and the leadership staff.” He states, “There are a lot of good, caring people in this profession and that’s what makes a world of difference for the residents and families.”
An accomplishment he has achieved throughout his career is building a child daycare center on a senior care campus. “Children would visit residents and you could tell it brighten their days.” Other accomplishments throughout his career include: building an 18-unit HUD project for a senior community and large expansions and remodels of two senior care campus. Lutheran Living Senior Campus was the largest project he worked on which launched this campus for the future of senior care in this community.
Dave expresses his gratitude for present and past board members for their dedication to senior care in the Muscatine community.
Dave will always be remembered for his accomplishments. Thank you, Dave, for your years of hard work and dedication to the Lutheran Living team. We hope you enjoy your well-deserved retirement and play a few rounds of golf!
Lutheran Living will host a Farewell Party in Dave’s honor, please join us!
October 30, 2019
1 – 3 PM
Welcome Lutheran Living’s Medical Director
Lutheran Living is proud and excited to announce our new Medical Director, Stanley J. Mathew, Physiatrist, Medical Director of St. Lukes & Finley Hospital Physical Medicine Rehabilitation!
Stan is a native New Yorker and joined the St. Luke’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) medical team in October of 2009.
He completed his Internship in the department of Internal Medicine at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY in 2006. Stan then specialized in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and completed his post graduate education at New York Medical College, where he served as chief resident in his final year.
He holds Boards Certifications from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Disability Analysts, and the American Board of Pain Medicine.
Stan medical interests include pain management, spine and musculoskeletal medicine, spasticity management, electro diagnostics, pre/post-operative management of orthopedic and neurosurgical conditions.
Stan adds, “Humans are too complex to relegate diagnosis and treatment solely to ‘processes.’ Great physicians always apply an artist’s sensibility. Diagnosis requires an artist’s eye, a writer’s ear for dialogue, and a sense of composition.”
To learn more about Stan Mathew and his team, visit his website: www.stanmathewmd.com
Meet Lutheran Living’s Assistant Executive Director
She attended Kirkwood Community College and went completed the Physical Therapy Assistant program. After college, she worked in acute care for a few years. She has worked in long-term care for 12 years; 10 of those years has been as a Director of Rehabilitation. She has been at Lutheran Living for almost 3 years as our Director of Rehabilitation. For the past 5 years, she has been interested in becoming a health care administrator.
Stephanie has been married to her husband, Chad, for 17 years. They have two children together: ages 11 and 7. She loves cheering on her children at their sporting events. Her son plays soccer and her daughter plays softball. She enjoys boating, camping, and spending time with her family and friends. Her first experience with the aging population was playing the piano and singing at the local senior dining center in her hometown, Wyoming, Iowa.
In her new role, she is most excited about being able to make a difference in the lives of our residents and their families. She is also excited to connect and build relationships with our awesome staff. She is looking forward to continuing to grow with our leadership team. Stephanie is extremely grateful for this opportunity. She is enthusiastic about the next steps in this journey.
Lutheran Living is so happy to have her as our new Assistant Executive Director. Congratulations, Stephanie!
Lutheran Living COVID-19 Update
Lutheran Living’s COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Response Action Plan
Our priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy at all times. We continue to adhere to current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as state and local health officials to protect our residents, tenants, and team members from COVID-19, and are taking every action possible to prevent it from spreading in our senior community.
The following is a summary of our COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Response Action Plan.
- Requiring team members and encouraging all others to remain up-to-date* with their COVID-19 vaccinations. Staying up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others from complications of the virus. Team members with approved medical or religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine are subject to reasonable accommodations to protect the health and safety of everyone in our community. These accommodations include wearing well-fitting face masks that cover the nose and mouth, disinfecting work and break areas, and practicing physical distancing. Several highly transmissible variants of COVID-19 pose a major risk to anyone unvaccinated. Therefore, we continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and will provide support those who need assistance.
- Assigning one leader at Lutheran living to oversee all Training in Infection Prevention and Control and to implement our COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Response Action Plan.
- Utilizing appropriate source control and personal protective equipment (PPE), per CMS guidelines. All on-site individuals are asked to wear a well-fitting face mask that covers the mouth and nose when our community transmission rate is “high”. In addition, masks are required for individuals if they have, within the previous 10 days, experienced symptoms of any respiratory illness, had close contact or a high-risk exposure with someone who has confirmed COVID-19, they work in a COVID-19 outbreak unit or have been directly told to wear a mask by public health authorities, or they are a vaccine-exempt team member whose reasonable accommodations require masking. Team members will continue to use PPE correctly to prevent transmission of the virus as per federal and state guidelines.
- Screening and monitoring residents and team members for symptoms of COVID-19. We have increased our screening and monitoring of residents and team members for COVID-19 symptoms. COVID-19 symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea.
We all play a part in keeping ourselves and others healthy. Please wash your hands often, avoid touching your face, cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, wear a well-fitting face mask, and practice physical distancing as appropriate.
Residents: Please let a team member know immediately if you feel ill. We are here to support and care for you.
Team members: Please don’t enter our senior community if you are ill. Team members with any COVID-19 symptoms should contact our community’s director of nursing or their supervisor to schedule a COVID-19 test. Any team member who begins experiencing symptoms at work should keep a well-fitting face mask on and notify their supervisor immediately.We continue to educate residents and team members about COVID-19. For additional information, please visit the CDC’s website or Iowa Department of Public Health’s website.
- Using alcohol-based hand rub regularly.
- Tracing COVID-19 symptomatic individuals and testing residents and team members for the virus based-on federal and state guidance. We follow federal and state health officials’ guidance regarding testing our community members for COVID-19. Those with symptoms of the virus are tested three times following close contact or high-risk exposure to someone who has symptoms of COVID-19 or has tested positive for the virus. This process helps us quickly complete the appropriate contract tracing and investigation, in partnership with state and federal health officials, so we identify and quarantine residents, tenants, and team members who are positive for COVID-19.
- Quarantining COVID-19 positive residents and implementing enhanced infection control measures. COVID-positive community members will be quarantined and supported by designated team members as appropriate. We continue to follow all infection control protocols as outlined by the CDC, CMS, and state and local health officials. COVID-19 positive residents and tenants remain in quarantine until they are well and meet the CDC symptom-based criteria for return to normal activity.
- Advising COVID-19 positive team members to take all appropriate measures. For the health and well-being of our senior living community, any symptomatic team member is asked to notify their supervisor and schedule a COVID-19 test. We follow CDC guidance on the return-to-work criteria for health care professionals with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses.
- Taking environmental safety precautions. Our team continues to take extra measures to clean and disinfect all high-touch areas. This includes countertops and tables, faucet handles, toilet flush handles, doorknobs, door handles, crash bars, bathroom and kitchen areas, elevator call buttons, and handrails.
- Assuring safe visitation, congregate dining and group activities. We support the well-being of our residents, tenants, and team members by adhering to the core principles of infection prevention and control when welcoming visitors and during communal dining and congregate activities. Especially when our community has “high” COVID-19 transmission rates, all residents, team members, and visitors will wear well-fitting masks, practice proper hand hygiene, and physical distance as appropriate.
We are committed to offering visitation that supports each resident’s physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being, and quality of life. Individuals are asked to postpone visiting our community if, during the previous 10 days, they have had a positive viral test for COVID-19, have shown symptoms of respiratory illness, or have been exposed to COVID-19. If a visit is postponed, please know our team is available to support residents and their loved ones stay connected in alternative ways, like by coordinating a virtual visit.
While visits are permitted for all residents at all times— even in the event of an outbreak—visitors should know there are risks of transmission that are associated with entering our community if we have any active COVID-19 cases. While federal officials do not recommend it, residents who are on transmission-based precautions (TBP) or quarantine due to active COVID-19 may still receive visitors. In these cases, visits should occur in the residents’ rooms, tenants’ apartments and the participants should adhere to the core principles of infection prevention and control, including wearing well-fitting masks, practicing proper hand hygiene, and keeping physical distance as appropriate.
We maintain close communications with our medical director, other health care providers, and state and local health officials. Our team also closely monitors all information from the CDC, CMS, and state and local health departments to ensure we adhere to any applicable revision in guidance related to COVID-19 and infection prevention and control.
Please know our team is readily available to help coordinate and accommodate visits with Lutheran Living residents in a way that is appropriate for our physical setting, meets personal needs, and maintains the comfort and safety of all. Thank you.
For the latest information about COVID-19, we encourage you to use the following resources:
- Iowa COVID-19 Information
- Iowa Department of Public Health
- Iowa 211 Hotline
- Muscatine County COVID-19 Information
- CDC – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- CDC – Enfermedad del Coronavirus 2019 (COVID‑19)
- Trinity Muscatine Public Health
NOTE TO MEDIA PERSONNEL: Send inquiries to media@hdgi1.com.
*Per CMS, an individual is deemed up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations if they have obtained all first series of their initial COVID-19 vaccine as well as all boosters they are eligible to receive.