Maryland’s Total Patient Revenue System Prompts Western Maryland Health System to Launch New Skilled Nursing Care at Three Facilities

Maryland state incentives for hospitals to reduce unnecessary admissions and readmissions have led Western Maryland Health System (WMHS) to launch a new skilled nursing program at three facilities near Cumberland. These services aim to reduce the sort of unnecessary and expensive hospital admissions that cost the U.S. healthcare system billions every year. 

We’re partnering with WMHS to deliver high quality skilled nursing care at Devlin Manor Healthcare Center and Allegany Health Nursing and Rehabilitation in Cumberland, and WMHS Frostburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Frostburg.

A New York Times story last year featured Western Maryland System and Maryland’s unique “Total Patient Revenue” system as a potential example for the rest of the country on how to lower healthcare costs. A USA Today story in January similarly suggested that Maryland “may be the model for curbing healthcare cost,” again citing WMHS as an example.

“Western Maryland Health System has a long track record of being at the forefront of helping to solve healthcare’s thorniest challenges,” said Dr. Angelo Falcone. “We’ve had a long partnership with them through management of both their Emergency Department and an Observation Care Unit within the hospital. It’s been an incredibly fruitful partnership that has resulted in better healthcare for the residents of Cumberland and the surrounding areas. We couldn’t be happier to partner with them on this initiative as well.”

The skilled nursing programs will target patients at heightened risk of readmission to the hospital, or those with specific conditions which often lead to return visits to the ER. Many of these conditions could be prevented or managed in the outpatient setting, with this program, that emphasizes early diagnosis and intervention within the skilled nursing facility.