To improve the response and U.S. health care delivery system (host country), by assisting with funds the non-insured, unemployed, Catastrophic Hospitalized Immigrant Patient (C.H.I.P.), who can not find how to continue the out-patient health care needs, or to be discharged out of the hospital care, due to lack of funding for post-acute-care services.
To give humanitarian assistance by covering the post-acute healthcare expenses of the U.S.-Non-Insured Catastrophic Hospitalized Immigrant Patient (C.H.I.P.) with medical conditions, chronic illness and/or personal or work-related accidents, when the acute phase of their hospital medical problem has been resolved, but their unfunded and unemployed immigrant situation prohibits discharged from the U.S. hospital in the regular ethical and medically safe manner, due to lack of post-acute care funding and limited public and private charity options.
I H S mission is to assist temporarily those who have post-hospital needs and/or who wish to return home, and continue to receive, post-acute care services in the U.S. home or their country of origin, rigth after U.S. hospital discharge. This also returns them to their own family psychological support system in either country.
The IHS mission is also to find the best compassionate, dignified ,and quality medical U.S. and/or international services for the CHIP, oriented to their culture and language in a competent manner, and in most situations, continuity of care in their home or country of origin, avoiding unnecessarily long, and economically devastating U.S. hospitalizations. IHS also assists the US healthcare and the hospital institutions to eliminate healthcare disparities for these, some of the most vulnerable, under-served, and disadvantaged healthcare recipients in the U.S.
Finally, I H S believes its mission is to promote compassionate quality care CHIP services within the US Health Care System, and continous quality improvement in regard to these services and some of the National Patient Safety Goals.
CASE SCENARIO
A thirty year-old immigrant survivor of a motor vehicule accident in an early morning in a major U.S. city, was admitted to the closest hospital ICU for acute critical care with a severe head contusion, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), and 4-limb paralysis (quadriplegic), requiring artificial ventilation and nutrition. He remained in ICU approximately 2 months, with a tracheostomy and gastric artificial feeding; and then he was moved to a post-trauma care unit. He was inpatient at different hospitals for the next 9 months. His family had requested, in his early recovery, for him to be relocated to his original hometown in Mexico. IHS was finally called at the end of the 9th month of hospitalization; he had done an international review, case management, and case logistics. Family accepted IHS services, and in 2 to 3 days the process and documentation was completed. Then, he was discharged to IHS in a stable condition the 7th day. Air ambulance transported him to San Antonio, Texas, (Port of Exit), where immediately, a waiting IHS ICU ambulance then transported him directly to a private acute-care hospital, (" Port of Entry") in his native country. He was cared for and treated in a local contracted hospital with excellent private providers to continue the post-acute care in the most prudent manner with same local standards as any other patient in the similar conditions in that particular country. He was treated for 3 weeks, and then relocated to a rehabilitation hospital for couple of months. Finally, he was discharged to a nursing home in the city closest to his family´s home. Family members accepted-responsibility and obligations of full time care upon release from IHS care. Being with family made a significant difference in his health, and life with caring bedside company, prayers, and the love needed in his final step towards recovery at home.
