Speech Therapy Coverage

[Guest guest]

Good Evening!

Just have a quick question for the group regarding ST coverage in the

hospital setting. We use a contract service to provide ST in our

hospital. We have 1 full-time and 2 part-time SLPs that staff during the

week and 1 SLP on the weekends. Because our volumes flucuate so greatly

and we are paying a contracted fee for their service I have required them

to stay until 2 pm on week days to make sure any evaluations up until that

point are covered. If they have no patients they will then go home after

checking with our receptionist to make sure nothing is needed. On

weekends they will check their messages which indicate if they have new

evaluations from 8-12 both Sat and Sunday and come in to see those

patients along with any others that were already scheduled.

Our nurses would like to see a call back policy if they leave early for

the day or receive orders after the noon hour on the weekends for swallow

studies because they don't want to have patients or families upset if they

have to wait to eat until the evaluation is complete. My fear if we would

modify our contract is that they would be calling our SLPs in at any hour

of the day or night and expect someone to come in. When we have had

instances occur like this in the past the patient has typically been on

the floor or in the hospital the entire day but the physician just wrote

orders late in the day.

Just wondering what other hospitals are doing for coverage primarily for

swallow studies on weekends and if your SLPs maybe leave early for the

day. Our patients would never go more than 20 hours without that

evaluation being completed. Any input is appreciated.

Tara Shank

Bellin Hospital

Green Bay WI