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Published on: 7/12/2004
Last Visited: 7/13/2004
Lowey's concerns also are shared by rehab hospital leaders like Janet King, who is administrative director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, IA, and a member of the AHA Section on Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation."A hospital is not told, 'You can only provide so many C-sections,'" she said."Yet, that is was CMS is asking of rehabilitation facilities."
King said Genesis already has seen a "significant downturn" in its inpatient rehabilitation admissions and has had to lay off 13.5 of 185 full-time equivalents.The facility, which has followed a final 75% rule since it was proposed this spring in anticipation of implementation, has had to deny admission to patients to meet the rule's threshold, and area physicians have stopped referring patients they know won't qualify under the rule.
As a result, patients have had to wait for care, or instead have gone to other facilities or stayed in acute beds longer, missing the opportunity to receive the inpatient rehabilitation that can help them regain functionality and enjoy a better quality of life, King said.
King said she instead would like to see a rule that uses the "fairest, most equitable criteria, irrespective of diagnosis," criteria similar to that Genesis uses to determine whether inpatient rehabilitation is appropriate.