October 15, 2019 —During an individual’s transition from a hospital to rehabilitation or nursing care, ongoing communication and coordination among hospital staff, patients, family members and Medicare-certified health care providers (like Barclay Friends) is essential. The Community Care Coalition of Chester County (C5) was created to do just that.
Joan Forgue, Barclay Friends’ Assistant Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator/Nurse Liaison, has been an active C5 member since the group began in 2012 and currently serves as Chair of its Steering Committee. Pictured (from left) at a C5 quarterly community meeting are Harry Moore, Deputy Director for Field Services at the Chester County Department of Emergency Services; Carolyn Hann, Project Coordinator at Quality Insights of Pennsylvania; Joan Forgue, Assistant RNAC and Nurse Liaison at Barclay Friends; Leo Scaccia, Director of Advanced Life Support at Brandywine Hospital; and Chaz Brogan, Chief of Operations at Good Fellowship Ambulance Company.
C5 provides programs throughout Chester County to help educate Medicare patients and their families about important health care topics, including care transitions and advanced care directives.
“Most recently, I represented C5 at a planning group called ‘Community Conversations’ that included representatives of Main Line Health and the Alzheimer’s Association (Delaware Valley Chapter), as well as policy makers,” Joan said. “This dynamic group is dedicated to the early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease to help answer this question: How can we improve patient experiences, improve the health of the population and lower costs?”
Members of “Community Conversations” identified quick and inexpensive screening tools that could be used during routine doctor visits to help recognize signs of dementia earlier so that help can be provided. “On behalf of C5, I look forward to continuing to partake in these critically important activities to help move this and other issues forward,” Joan said.