Kelly Schwarz, DOR at North Mountain, and her CEO, Brian Newberry, have been working together for the past few years in one of our organization’s most successful subacute programs. Located in Phoenix, AZ, North Mountain serves the inpatient ventilator patient, as well as inpatient and outpatient renal dialysis patient. The success at North Mountain comes from having the right people—people who are committed and disciplined to care for this highly specialized population. In addition, Brian recognized the high degree of specialization, as well as the time that goes into caring for the subacute patient. He partnered with the payer sources to develop reimbursement programs that were more in line with the level of care required to run a subacute. His success in this market is directly related to his comprehensive understanding of the environmental, clinical and financial demands of this population. Because there are so many details required to run a successful subacute business, less and less skilled nursing facilities have been willing to take the risk. Yet, the needs are continuing to grow.
This fall, Brian, with the support of the Ensign Group, took a giant step and started a new company, Subacute Facility Services. Subacute Facility Services is focused first and foremost on supporting the facilities within our organization, operating in markets where there is an interest and demand with development of subacute service delivery.
Brian is currently working with four facilities in the focused stages of development: Catalina Healthcare Center, Sunview Healthcare and Rehab, Provo Healthcare and Rehab, and Victoria Ventura Health and Rehab. Aside from these four, SFS is currently considering a subacute up in Northern California as well. Brian recognizes the importance of clinical training and has been partnering with Kelly Schwarz to provide support in the initial stages of training with the therapy programs. This allows Kelly and her team to share their hands-on experiences of what approaches are working, what equipment is helpful, as well as some of the varying needs for additional support personnel and scheduling considerations.
Brian describes his vision for Subacute Facility Services as being more than just a consulting company. “My focus is to partner with the facility directly in setting up subacute/respiratory services in their buildings from start to finish. I’m committed to being engaged in the process over the first five years of the new venture in an effort to transfer any knowledge and experience I’ve gained over the years at North Mountain to the EDs so they are successful in their endeavor.” Brian’s ownership in helping to achieve success with our organization’s subacute ventures is the core of the anticipated success.