Problem:
Memorial Hermann's strong initiatives include: Nurse Health Line: In operation since 2014, and scaled up with Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the system's Nurse Health Line provides a bilingual staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer calls, assess callers' primary health concerns and direct them to an appropriate level of care, free of charge - regardless of health care affiliation, primary care provider or insurance status. In addition, it provides education and resources to support doctors' plans of care as well as providing life-saving advice and resources in coordination with local agencies, such as dialysis centers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a nurse triage hotline was established to assess callers' symptoms and direct them to appropriate care. In total, the system has responded to 27,600 COVID-related calls on its Nurse Health Line, which receives 170,000 calls annually. Only 25% of callers are sent to the ED, saving $4.7 million in health care costs.