Cooley Dickinson Expands Its Hospitalist Program

NORTHAMPTON – In 2003, Cooley Dickinson Hospital announced the creation of its Hospitalists team, formally known as the Cooley Dickinson Inpatient Physicians. Since then, the program has grown.

The hospitalists team is made up of five doctors – all board-certified in either internal medicine or family practice – and one nurse practitioner, all of whom primarily take care of hospitalized patients. They assume responsibility for the care of inpatients, who revert to the care of their primary care physicians after being discharged from the hospital.

“Several physicians saw the need to create a hospitalist program to care of inpatients,” said George Corey, MD, chief hospitalist. “Many primary care doctors are finding it more efficient to concentrate on their practices and leave hospital care to the hospitalist group.”

Meanwhile, patients receive high-quality, personalized, hospital-based care. Hospitalists perform many of the same functions as primary care doctors. They assess a patient’s condition and make a plan for care; order lab work, diagnostic tests, and medications; consult with specialty physicians as well as nutritionists and rehabilitation experts; work closely with nurses to optimize care; and arrange for discharge and after-hospital care, among other services,
The six current CDH hospitalists include five doctors: Dr. Corey; Laura Scoville, MD; Margaret Russo, MD; Bruce Finke, MD and Seth Kupferschmid, MD; as well as nurse practitioner Jennifer Lesperance, ACNP.

To date, this program has serviced patients of 43 area physicians, and Corey expects that number – as well as the number of hospitalists – to grow. “Many hospitals have this kind of program,” he said, “so Cooley Dickinson has joined a successful group of programs up and running across the country.”