Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Md., plans to train and employ patients who are "frequent fliers" to the hospital, reports Daily Record.
Under the hospital's jobs plan, these patients will receive training to help other chronically ill patients with their care.
The state Health Services Cost Review Commission's center for engagement and alignment will allow Garrett Regional to raise $221,485 via rate increases over three years, making it able to hire and train five people to work as community health workers, liaisons and other support staff providing outreach in the community, according to the article. The hospital has agreed to provide its own funds to match the increase.
Officials believe the plan will help evade "potentially avoidable utilization" of costly hospital services, Steve Ports, director of the commission's center for engagement and alignment, said, according to the report.
Officials said patients who often find themselves needing the hospital's services are suited for the job because they have experience going through the healthcare system and may not have economic resources — such as adequate insurance and transportation — to manage their illness, reports Daily Record.