Cascades Healthcare and Cortex Join Forces to Improve Patient Outcomes Amidst Coronavirus

Cascades Healthcare, a leader in skilled nursing facilities in the Utah and Idaho markets, implements CheckUp, Cortex's nurse call-back platform, to keep in touch with and educate patients during the Coronavirus pandemic. While initially focused on COVID-19, the aim of the initiative is to decrease readmission rates and enhance the patient experience through the care continuum and into recovery.

LEHI, Utah, March 26, 2020 - Cortex (Cortex Health Inc.), a leading healthcare and post-acute software provider, has been enlisted by Cascades Healthcare in an effort to improve discharge communication and patient-centered conversations with partners. 

Against an unprecedented change in healthcare, Coronavirus being the most pressing challenge, Cascades is choosing to optimize its patient communication to deliver on its patient-care model. “We’re thrilled to be joining Cortex’s network to add greater insights and visibility, both upstream and downstream. By moving beyond general performance metrics, we’re focused on having direct conversations about patients,” says Trent Wood, Director of Corporate Marketing at Cascades. “The patient-centered conversations are truly allowing us to improve relationships and deliver better outcomes.”

With Cortex’s COVID-19 Command Center, Cascades is also changing the script and focusing on disease tracking. “Within a matter of a few days, we’re able to contact a significant portion of our discharged patients and ensure they have the tools and knowledge for recovery,” says Trent. “We’re also able to automatically screen patients for symptoms of Coronavirus, receive test results, and inform patients on the appropriate measures.”

“Emerging global threats like COVID-19 require a rapid response and real-time patient data. The gap between leaving a facility and full recovery is often reserved for reactive measures,” says Josh Albrechtsen, Chief Operating Officer at Cortex. “We’re excited to be working with Cascades and helping them achieve better outcomes through this process.”

With clinical and satisfaction opportunities resulting from the nurse phone calls, Cascades is uniquely positioned to enhance the patient experience. “These calls are not just a survey," Trent continues. "By using the Cortex nurses, we’re able to inquire about wellness and health concerns and it doesn’t feel like a one-sided conversation. Lastly, we’re allowed more flexibility to change scripts and add questions that will inform our strategies and QAPI measures.”

At the center of this cooperation is network and data optimization. “As we’ve grown in Utah, our clients’ NPS and readmissions rates have greatly improved,” says Josh. “Our goal at Cortex of one million positive outcomes is made possible as Cascades provides proactive outreach.”

About Cascades Healthcare LLC
Cascades provides management support to skilled nursing facilities and long-term care facilities. Cascades Healthcare currently supports over 2,000 employees in 15 facilities in Utah and Idaho.

About Cortex Health Inc.
Founded in 2015, Cortex was originally known for making follow-up calls to patients after discharge from the hospital. Since that time, Cortex has become a full-featured healthcare software platform for post-acute providers, sitting alongside the EHR to generate opportunities for positive outcomes.