What is a Hospitalist?
Practitioners of hospital medicine include physicians (“hospitalists”) and non-physician providers who engage in clinical care, teaching, research or leadership in the field of general hospital medicine. In addition to their core expertise managing the clinical problems of acutely ill, hospitalized patients, hospital medicine practitioners work to enhance the performance of hospitals and healthcare systems.
Hospitalists are responsible for managing all aspects of a patient's hospitalization including:
- Admission and discharge
- Communicating with the patient and his/her family during the patient's stay in the hospital
- Consulting with the patient's Primary Care Provider (PCP) and specialists
- Ordering tests and lab work
- Overseeing patient care
- Writing orders
There are many benefits to having a hospitalist. For the patient, it means that there is a doctor available at all times who can respond quickly to the patient's needs or changes in condition. Additionally, studies show that a hospitalist program can reduce costs and length of stay, and lead to improved care.
While you're a patient in the hospital, your care will be coordinated by the Hospitalist. Through an established protocol, the hospitalist will communicate regularly with your PCP to ensure that your PCP is informed of your progress as well as any changes or concerns. Your PCP is welcome to visit you in the hospital at any time.
A member of the Hospitalist team at Mt. Ascutney Hospital is on duty during the day, every day of the week.
Our Hospitalist team
- Herbert Ip, MD, Chief Medical Officer
- Franceso Congiusta, MD
- Muhammad Guhjjar, MD
- Evin Howard, APRN
- Adrian Ivan, MD
- Leah LaScala, MD
- Rachel Lovins, MD
- Sean O’Brien, PA-C
- William Palmer, MD
- Kyle Rattray, MD
- Kenneth Rudd, MD
If you are a provider interested in joining our Hospitalist Program, please contact Victoria Mesropian via email at victoria.mesropian@mahhc.org.