Premier Health’s New Regional Referral Center to Enhance Patient Access

DAYTON (August 28, 2019) – For thousands of Premier Health patients, a single phone call on their behalf will soon trigger enhanced, more seamless care.

Patients won’t have to be the ones who place that call. Instead, referring hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians who need to transfer or directly admit a patient to a Premier Health facility will contact the health system’s new regional referral center. The regional referral center, which opens on Sept. 4, is housed inside the Dayton Media Center, 1611 S. Main St., in Dayton.

“Our new regional referral center’s rapid referral process will make a positive difference for all of our patients,” said April Anderson, MD, medical director of the referral center. “It will ensure our patients receive the care they need as soon as possible.”

From the new referral center, with its high-tech bank of computer screens that track aircraft and mobile intensive care units, more than 60 staff members will access real-time information to rapidly find the optimal spot to care for incoming patients among the more than 1,600 licensed beds that Premier Health has across its system. More staff could be added over time.

In a first for Dayton, the regional referral center will house communications for CareFlight’s medical helicopter services, which cover a 17-county area. The referral center also handles other transportation needs, including the movement of six mobile intensive care units. Staff also arrange for an admitting physician to be in place when a patient arrives at a facility. From the center, thousands of pages will be sent to physicians who provide care in Premier Health hospital emergency departments. The center will coordinate a patient’s care journey through a Premier Health facility or facilities, and coordinate follow-up care when the patient is discharged.

“Combining these services into one new center will enhance communication and coordination of these critical services throughout our entire health system, and ultimately will enhance the health of the communities that we serve,” said Mary Boosalis, president and CEO, Premier Health. “It also represents the continued commitment of our health system and locally led board of trustees to invest in Dayton.”

Previously, Premier Health’s access and transfer center, CareFlight communications center, and bed access were handled from separate locations and primarily served Miami Valley Hospital. The new regional referral center takes a more holistic approach in coordinating care systemwide.

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