Navigator reduces readmissions, inappropriate ED visits.

Lakewood Hospital's pilot project in which a patient navigator worked with at-risk patients saved the hospital $156,000 in just six months. The goal of the program was to reduce the number of 30-day readmissions and self-pay visits in a 30-day period by identifying barriers to care. The navigator helps the self-pay patients find a medical home at low-cost clinics or federally qualified health centers and helps other patients identify a primary care physician and set up a follow-up appointment. She rounds with the treatment team and collaborates on discharge plans. In the first year of the program, the navigator worked with 1,500 patients and secured more than 1,000 follow-up appointments before discharge.