Dr. Kenneth Scott Jr., DO, CMD
By Dr. Kenneth Scott Jr., DO, CMD
SilverSage Management Services and SilverSage Physician Services have endured some tumultuous times over the past seven years, but the real-life testing ground has only proven the strength of the company’s concepts and the dedication of those people who have led the way.
As our seventh anniversary arrives this month, I would like to take a few moments to thank those who have stood by the company, not only choosing to embark on this journey with us but also helping SilverSage to thrive and become stronger. Our shared experience in the quest for improved quality of care for seniors has helped our full team hone additional skills as well as define and expand SilverSage’s overall mission and values.
In the beginning, SilverSage had one goal: placing full-time physicians in nursing homes across the country. The need for physicians to be more involved in post-acute and long-term care was recognized nationally, even by politicians who spoke about experiences with their own family members and, in many instances, helped to pass legislation that made it easier for doctors to work full time in the industry.
SilverSage Physician Services recognized the need and successfully put many doctors to work in nursing homes—and by later request, expanded into critical-access hospitals.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the doctors who recognized our vision and joined our team. It was their work at the bedsides of countless patients that put a face on what SilverSage is and can yet accomplish. The quality of care you produced is unequaled in the industry, with a model that allowed consistent rehospitalization rates of 3–6 percent.
When COVID hit the nation hard, these doctors responded to the call, leading the way to quality of care and protecting our patients. Although there was much loss of life across the post-acute and long-term care industry, we were thankful that, in the buildings with SilverSage’s model and full-time physicians, although we experienced COVID, we had no COVID-caused deaths throughout the pandemic.
While our doctors worked tirelessly to help the frail and vulnerable elders in our care, there was a group of dedicated people behind the scenes, both staff and consultants, supporting what the doctors did and ensuring the health and success of the company. As a physician working for SilverSage Physician Services and the CEO of the company, I have been privileged to cross the aisle from the clinical side to the business side of the company and can appreciate the hard work and dedication of the staff and consultants, without whom the work of the clinicians could not have continued. Their dedication to an industry-changing concept allowed SilverSage to flourish and gave the clinicians a chance to prove the model. Health care is truly a team sport, and nowhere has that been better displayed than within the walls of SilverSage Management Services.
As COVID progressed and the great exodus of workers across the nation continued, SilverSage began to receive numerous calls from nursing homes around the country. They were aware that we placed physicians in nursing homes as part of our model, but they were curious about nurses. The reduction in the nursing workforce left them with great personnel needs in that area.
Naturally, my answer was, “No, sorry, but we aren’t in the nursing business.”
However, as the calls continued, we realized that placement of physicians in facilities was getting more difficult, especially if there were not enough nurses to allow the facility to run at full capacity.
SilverSage Management Services has since developed a nursing recruitment platform that helps nursing homes become fully staffed with their own employees. We recognize the vital work that nursing homes do and anticipate that the need will only intensify as government staffing standards are enacted and budget and staffing issues intensify.
As nursing homes move further toward the model of a free-standing med-surg ward, SilverSage is dedicated to being there to help them achieve their goals of taking care of more complicated patients while achieving an even higher quality of care and maintaining a financial standing that allows them to continue to flourish.
Some would say that the nursing home model is a thing of the past—an outdated concept that is failing. Although this may be a dream of the future, there will continue to be frail and vulnerable elders that require more care than can be safely or effectively delivered in the home environment. For those patients and families relying desperately on that level of care, SilverSage Management Services will be there, not only as a thought leader in the industry but as a practical solution to higher quality at a better cost.
Dr. Kenneth L. Scott Jr., DO, CMD, is a proud father, husband, and experienced medical professional with over 30 years of experience. From serving in management as a certified medical director to belonging to numerous medical societies, he leads with a vision to change medicine for the better.
