Michael Nottidge, MD, MPH, MBA, Senior Vice President & Medical Director

In 2017 Contessa introduced a unique alternative to subacute rehabilitation (SAR) and traditional skilled nursing facilities (SNFs): our Rehabilitation Care at Home program. Now into its sixth year, the value of this program to local communities and hospitals continues to shine. This is especially evident in an era of historic SNF bed shortages that has resulted in frustration for patients who need SNF placement and for hospital systems who rely on these facilities as a resource to move patients to.  Rehabilitation Care at Home offers a ready-made solution for these challenges, and it is also returning excellent outcomes for all…

Even as a physician, navigating a recent medication change took me two weeks of frustrating back and forth phone calls and messages to my doctor, pharmacy and insurance company. My insurance payer had changed the approved brand of medication, the pharmacy had listed incompatible alternatives and my physician was not updated on any of this. In spite of my familiarity with healthcare and its systems, I had become a casualty of a phenomenon known as healthcare fragmentation.  In the United States, the structure of the healthcare system and its many services, initiatives and programs often results in healthcare fragmentation. Although…

There really is no place like home for the more than six million Americans living with dementia. These individuals face memory loss and other cognitive barriers that are severe enough to interfere with daily life, both in familiar and unfamiliar environments. This is why a trip to the hospital can turn someone living with dementia’s world upside down, often leading to delirium, functional decline, and distress.  With the number of people aged 65 and older diagnosed with dementia expected to increase to 12.7 million by 2050, our healthcare system faces a tremendous challenge in treating these patients. A report published…

At home, we are our whole selves. At a hospital, we might barely be half.   To provide the most comprehensive and high-quality care that treats the whole person we must focus on elements of care that are usually not visible from within hospital walls.   The most important way Contessa addresses these social determinants of health is the setting of care—the home. The home environment expands providers’ ability to interact with patients and better understand their health behaviors.  It may seem obvious that providing care in the home gives providers a better window into their patients’ lives. But what might be…

There was a time when the only option for additional care after a hospital stay was to be transferred to a rehab or skilled nursing facility (or SNF). Contessa’s Rehabilitation Care at Home model changes that by offering a safe and effective alternative to the traditional skilled nursing facility stay. With this program, patients can return home and receive the same high-quality rehabilitation care they would receive in a facility.  Our care teams are designed and equipped to restore patients’ health while coordinating all the services, doctors, and other specialists that they need for up to 60 days. Patients who…

When thinking about the role of nurses, we often default to thinking about what happens within the hospital. With new modalities of care in new environments, however, today’s nursing jobs can take many different forms. At Contessa, we recognize that many nurses are seeking an alternative to hospital-based roles. Contessa’s nurses enjoy an experience that’s unique in three key areas:   Physical environment  People, knowledge, and training Patient interaction and care plans  Physical Environment The most obvious difference between types of nursing jobs is where the patient care takes place. The site of care delivery changes the way care is delivered.…

It’s no secret: partnering with Contessa can transform already-prominent hospitals and health-systems into highly desired destinations of true patient-centered care. Our organization works with partners who share a dedication to offering the right care for patients at the right time in the best place suited for their needs: the home.  The truth is, though, none of this happens overnight. From the first day after a partnership is formed, our teams work collaboratively to bring operational, clinical, and change management expertise to help clinical teams smoothly deliver hospital care at home. Our model is a more effective and more efficient process…

Grappling with a serious or complex illness can be a challenge at any age, and that’s even harder when you’re managing it alone. Unfortunately, many care models overlook palliative services or engage with them only at the end of life. Health care teams often consider palliative care engagement as giving up on helping their patients. Yet, when engaged with palliative care earlier in their journeys, data shows patients experience a higher quality of life and often live longer.  Palliative care, a medical specialty focused on maintaining or improving quality of life, is often the supportive care patients with chronic conditions…