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When you’re
hospitalized,
you want—and deserve—the very
best care. At Jackson Hospital, expert
healthcare providers called hospitalists
are dedicated to giving you exactly that.
These doctors and nurse practitioners
have devoted their careers to one area:
hospital medicine. And they’re on-site
at all times to make sure you receive
seamless and compassionate care, right
when you need it.
Eagle Chen, MD, program director
for Jackson Hospitalist Group, and
the program’s clinical director, Jan
Hill, RN, answer a few questions about
the care hospitalists provide.
Q
What is a hospitalist?
A hospitalist is a healthcare pro-
vider who practices hospital medicine
and cares only for hospitalized patients.
Hospitalists are often physicians. But
they can also be nurse practitioners
or physician assistants. According to
Dr. Chen, “Hospital medicine recently
became a new subspecialty, and if one
desires, its own medical board to pass.”
The Jackson Hospitalist Group
includes:
• 12 board-certified internal medicine
physicians
• Two certified nurse practitioners
All are internal medicine experts.
And their only role is to care for
inpatients.
“We don’t have any outpatient
duties,” says Dr. Chen. “We’re really
specialized in patients’ hospital care.”
And as members of the Jackson Hos-
pital staff, they’re fully invested in this
medical community, serving on commit-
tees throughout the hospital.
Q
Do they treat every
patient?
The Jackson Hospitalist Group cares for
those who:
• Don’t have a primary care doctor
• Have a doctor who doesn’t admit
patients to Jackson Hospital
Since follow-up care is so important
for outpatients, our hospitalists help
ensure that anyone admitted without a
primary care doctor has access to one
before discharge. “The resource manage-
ment staff help us get these patients
into someplace where they will have
physician follow-up,” Jan says.
Q
Do hospitalists replace
a primary care doctor?
Not at all. In fact, they work together.
“We obtain your records and com-
municate well with your primary care
doctor, especially if something happens
and when you’re being discharged,”
Dr. Chen says. “That means your inpa-
tient care will be connected with your
outpatient care.”
Communication between your hospi-
talist and your primary care doctor will
include:
• Discussions about your care, when-
ever necessary
• A full report on your hospital stay
• Your written discharge summary
Q
What are the upsides
of hospitalist care for
patients?
Dr. Chen and Jan agree: The biggest ad-
vantage is easy access to your hospitalist.
Hospitalists are on duty 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year. Our physician hos-
pitalists work 12-hour shifts, seven days
in a row. Nights are covered by our two
nurse practitioners.
“There is always someone in our group
at this facility to help you,” says Jan.
“We have much more time to be
available to patients and their fami-
lies.” Dr. Chen adds. “We help increase
patient satisfaction by being available, by
responding quickly.”
And because they spend most of their
time in the hospital, members of the
Jackson Hospitalist Group know the
discharge planners and social workers
on a first-name basis. “They have better
collaboration and efficiently coordinate
each patient’s care with different depart-
ments,” Jan says.
“Hospital work is challenging and in-
tense,” Dr. Chen says. That’s part of what
draws providers to this specialty. There’s
peace of mind in knowing your care
comes from medical professionals who:
• Practice only hospital medicine and
have daily experience with the type of
issues that arise in a hospital setting
• Are skilled in the latest diagnostic
techniques and treatments
• Are committed to ensuring continu-
ous care for you—from admission to
discharge and back to primary care
HOSPITALISTS:
WE’VE GOT
THEIR NUMBERS
The number of Jackson
Hospital patients who receive
care from our hospitalists.
The number of years hospital-
ists have been providing expert
care at Jackson Hospital.
50
%
16
Nitin
Widhani, MD
Gerald Lim, MD
Praful Patel, MD
Pavan
Madadi, MD
Sandeep
Virk, MD
Ngozi Okeke,
MD
7