Specialists On Call Expands Access to Emergency Neurology On-Call Services in Georgia

/PRNewswire/ -- Specialists On Call, Inc. (SOC) announced today that it is expanding the states in which it provides service, including Georgia. SOC is the country's largest provider of emergency neurology on-call services to hospitals, having already managed more than 5,500 emergency neurology consultations to date.

Dr. Joe Peterson, CEO, described the company's ongoing expansion, "We are pleased that our model for providing hospitals with immediate 24/7 access to neurology on-call coverage is generating demand in new states and facilities. Our model delivers clinical and financial benefits to our hospital clients and their patients. At the same time, we relieve local neurologists of the burden of call, while not taking referrals or procedures from them. In fact, our partners consistently expand their acute neurology volumes in our model creating a win for all participants, which is accelerating the growth of our business. We are looking forward to working with hospitals in Georgia in 2009. SOC will expand the emergency neurology resources available to hospitals in Georgia in the year ahead."

SOC is a private provider of emergency neurology consultations by telemedical link, and is accredited by the Joint Commission as an ambulatory care organization. Karen Deli, SVP for Operations explained, "Our successful offering is built upon a track record of clinical excellence that has our team of affiliated neurologists as its foundation. Because our affiliated neurologists must be licensed in each state in which we operate in order to be credentialed at each of our clients, our expansion requires substantial investments of time and money. Our 2008 investment in licensing will add more than ten states to our coverage area in 2009."

Dr. Peterson summarized, "With every chance we get to expand our service, we get the chance to extend access to state-of-the-art neurology care to emergency patients that otherwise have to do without. In many emergencies, but especially in acute strokes, our ability to intervene in minutes can have remarkable impact upon the patient's recovery, dramatically bettering the lives of patients and their families."

Specialists On Call, Inc., is a private, national, professionally managed, physician led telemedicine company that provides access to the clinical expertise of a team of university and private practice specialists through a consolidated teleconferencing, PACS and EMR system. With offices in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, SOC is committed to extending access to professional on-call specialty physician support to patients in all settings and geographies, with special expertise in urban and suburban hospitals and hospital systems.

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Nurses Report Quality Health Benefits Key to Choosing an Employer

/PRNewswire/ -- As more hospitals ramp up efforts to attract and retain quality nursing staffs, a new survey(i) by insurance provider Aflac finds that 86 percent of nurses say a hospital's benefit package is one of the most important factors when determining where they choose to work, and more than half report they would switch jobs solely based on an employer's benefits.

In fact, three-quarters of the registered nurses surveyed say they would prefer to work for an employer that provides voluntary insurance policies, including insurance for short-term disability. Additionally, the vast majority of the randomly polled nurses (87 percent) believe that voluntary insurance is an important factor when evaluating a current or potential employer.

The survey findings come at a time when American hospitals are facing critical nursing shortages: The Journal of the American Medical Association(ii) has forecasted that by 2020, the number of registered nurses will fall short of demand by 20 percent.

"These findings underscore the positive response we've seen among employees with access to voluntary insurance," said Paul S. Amos II, president, Aflac; COO, U.S. Operations. "Not only can voluntary insurance help nurses manage their health care expenses, but it can also have a positive impact on hospitals' recruitment and retention efforts."

Other survey highlights include:

-- 66 percent of nurses say a voluntary insurance package would positively impact their decision to remain with an employer

-- 64 percent of nurses who currently have voluntary insurance policies are unwilling to go without them

-- 54 percent of nurses say that voluntary insurance would improve their benefits package

-- 89 percent of nurses believe that as health care costs rise in the coming years, voluntary insurance will become even more important

-- 47 percent would consider switching jobs if their new employer made voluntary insurance plans available

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