350 talented providers to know at our health system

Dolores and Efrain Perez arrived at the Keck Medical Center of USC cardiac care clinic in a panic.

Dolores, 62, suffered a heart attack in 2010. Now the couple suspected she was either having another heart attack or a stroke.

They were met by Jai Chung, FNP-BC, a cardiology nurse practitioner who works with Dolores' cardiologist, Dr. Ray Matthews. Chung quickly took charge and determined Dolores had experienced at least one stroke. She arranged emergency care for Dolores and ordered a brain MRI to confirm the diagnosis and the best treatment.

Dolores spent a week at Keck Hospital of USC and is now home and recovering well. Efrain credits Chung’s prompt diagnosis and actions with his wife’s positive outcome.

?“When a person has a stroke, every minute without treatment counts because more brain tissue is destroyed,” he said. “Because of Jai, Dolores got help right away.”

?Chung is one of 350 Keck Medicine of USC health care providers known collectively as Advanced Practice Providers or APPs. Besides nurse practitioners, APPs include clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives. They may not be as well-known as other types of providers, but they play a very important role in our patients’ care.

?APPs have undergone advanced education, training, certification and licensure, and perform many of the same duties typically associated with physicians. For example, physician assistants in the neurosurgery spine clinic see patients, take histories, perform exams, assist surgeons during surgery and make hospital rounds. Critical care nurse practitioners in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit help oversee patients’ post-operative recovery by managing pain, monitoring surgical sites and addressing complications that may arise.

?The integration of APPs into our health system has resulted in increased access to care, decreased lengths of stay, decreased readmission and improved quality of care. APPs often serve as the point person between the larger care team and the patient, making sure patients fully understand their treatment plans and adding even more personalized care.

Chung has been part of Dolores’ care team for years, and Dolores says she is continually impressed with Chung’s compassion and attentiveness.

“She is kind-hearted, reassuring and patient,” said Dolores. “Whatever health concern I have, she knows what needs to be done and is on it.”

APPs are not only essential to Keck Medicine but are a growing segment of health care providers that are helping the industry successfully navigate a changing and complex environment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, physician assistant jobs are expected to grow 27% over the next 10 years, and jobs for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners by 38%.

This week, September 25-29, is National Advanced Practice Provider week. APPS are a valued and integral part of health care — as Dolores and Efrain know so well.

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