Direct Access - Transfer Processing Center

• 100% Acceptance of all patients referred to our facilities if specialties are available
• Acceptance with Bed Assignment within 15" of initial call
• To Foster relationships with all referral facilities/physicians and staff to make this as seamless a transfer process as possible
• To provide open lines of communications for feedback on our processes which can lead to optimizing this process to best meet the needs of you our customers and most of all the needs of your patients and ours!  

Direct Access Line
Saint Joseph Health

1-888-461-0030
Local Calls: 313-1882

Direct Admit Nurse Coordinators:
Betty Wellman, RN
Sherri Hamlin, RN

Quick Procedure/Surgery Scheduling Guide
On Line Direct Admit Process Feedback
Print Info Cards for posting in offices and Units

As we address the needs of our patients through out the Saint Joseph Health System, one need is to have the processes in place that will expedite the provision of higher evels of care as needed. In September of 2007, a multi-disciplinary team from through out our system met to review the current practices, identify gaps in that process and then plan and implement processes to minimize those gaps. Over the first several months of those meetings several practices became the norm for all receiving requests for transfer and acceptance. One of the most ambitious goals of this team was to extablish and optimize the use of a single point of entry into our Lexington facilities. As with all processes, this is an evolving one and will only get where we want it to be with feedback from you and we encourage that with use of the On-Line Customer Survey Form or via email. We look forward to the development of relationships with you all as we strive to provide the best care possible to our patients.

Current Process in Place:
As the referring facility/physician -
Call 1-888-461-0030 (Available 24/7)
DANC will take your calls Mon - Fri 7am-11pm
House Administrators will take your calls 11p-7am Weekdays and Weekends

Once you place the call you will be asked:

• Your Name and Phone#so we can reach you if needed
• Which facility and specialty you need
• Name, Diagnosis, and DOB of the Patient

We will then call the Physician on Call for needed specialty at the requested facility (SJH or SJE) and have them call you at the number you provided

• After 15" our DANC nurses will call for confirmation at your facility/office/ED that our physician call did return the call to you
  • If not we will repage (our goal is that we will be able to do this on the initial call with a three way call directly with our physician on call but currently this is our process)

If the requested physician has not called you within 30" we do have an escalation process in place to address this.

Once we get confirmation of acceptance from the recieving physician we will then:

• Assign a bed, immediately if there is one available-if  not ASAP
• Get demographics sheet faxed to our admitting department with notification to them to expect patient and HA notification of pending transfer
• Notify your Nurses of who to call to give report on transfer
• Assist in any other way to expedite the transfer for you