Todd Goodman who serves as Senior Executive Officer and CFO of Florida Hospital and the Central Florida Division of Adventist Health System was kind enough to spend time with Orlando Medical News to discuss a caring new Florida Hospital community health program.

Goodman has worked at Florida Hospital and Adventist Health System more than 25 years and has served in a number of positions. Prior to his current role he served as senior finance officer of Florida Hospital and the Florida Division of Adventist Health System, CFO for the Florida Hospital Heartland Division, and a variety of other roles in finance and business development.

Goodman received his MBA from the University of Central Florida and is a licensed CPA.

What is the Florida Hospital Community Care program?

The Florida Hospital Community Care program is a new initiative in the Orlando metro to help the most financially and physically vulnerable people in our community. Our goal is to improve patients' health, while also reducing health care costs, readmissions and inappropriate emergency department visits. The Orlando program is modeled after a similar program that launched in Volusia County in 2014, which later expanded to Flagler. As an organization, we have seen significant results from these efforts, and we're eager to provide the same support to the Orlando community.

How does the program work?

In metro Orlando, the Community Care team consists of a social worker, a nurse and a dietician. As qualified patients come into the emergency department, we tell them about the program and ask if they want to sign up. If they do, the Community Care team works with the patient to ensure they understand their prescriptions, take the medicine, have a stable home, and educate them about community resources, such as medical homes for the uninsured that will allow them to have consistent care.

What is innovative about this program?

In addition to the multidisciplinary team, we are using technology such as MedMinder to help patients remember to take their prescriptions. MedMinder notifies a nurse if the patient doesn't take their medication at the appropriate time, so the team can follow-up. This technology not only ensures compliance; it also allows our team to monitor the care needs of the participants.

Who would benefit the most from the Florida Hospital Community Care program?

This program focuses on patients of the hospital who have chronic diseases, are uninsured and are unable to pay for their health care. It is not unusual for these patients to visit the emergency department several times a year. That's troublesome because it shows us their health isn't being managed or improved, they need help monitoring and controlling their illness, and there may be larger barriers, such as lack of housing, social, emotional or financial resources.

Why is Florida Hospital launching this program?

As an organization, we are committed to helping our community become healthier, and that means finding innovative ways to help the most physically and financially vulnerable in Central Florida. We want patients to seek appropriate care at the most appropriate setting. By partnering with our patients in this program, we can focus on the whole person, and not just their medical emergency. We are committed to providing exceptional care that is focused on whole-person health - physical, spiritual and emotional. This is a good example of both doing good and doing well.

What have you seen in Volusia and Flagler counties that you hope to model in the Orlando program?

We've seen a notable reduction in emergency department visits, and a reduction in inpatient stays for this group of patients in Volusia and Flagler counties. This has led to improvements in health as well as a direct cost savings of more than $350,000.

In Volusia and Flagler counties, college students have been a part of the success of the program. Students are trained as "health coaches" and offer greater assistance in the patients' homes. We're working with Adventist University of Health Sciences to rollout a program in metro Orlando that teaches students in our community how to perform this task starting in January.

What are some results you'd like to see in the Orlando metro area from this program?

We want to improve the health of our community and reduce the amount of people who live with chronic conditions and are not able, or don't know how, to manage them. Our ultimate goal is to help the Orlando metro community lead a healthier life, and this program is one of the steps we're taking to make that happen while reducing the cost of care within the community.