Influence
July 6, 2020

Pandemic spotlights nursing home needs; Regenstrief scientist leading company to address the gaps

Probari, Inc., a company dedicated to improving nursing home care and led by Regenstrief research scientist and Indiana University School of Medicine associate professor Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, was highlighted in Inside Indiana Business. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many areas of weakness within the nursing home system, areas that Probari is working to address.

“The problems we are trying to address with our startup were problems a year ago, 10 years ago,” Dr. Unroe told IIB. “But now, because of the extreme vulnerability of this population, there’s a bright light shining on how we can’t tolerate not having the best possible communication lines among all stakeholders in nursing facilities; we can’t tolerate not doing high-quality advanced care planning for all residents, and we must catch an acute change in status as soon as it happens.”

Dr. Unroe is the founder of Probari, and Regenstrief Institute is an investor in the company. The company uses a care model the embeds a specially trained nurse in each facility. The model was proven to be successful during a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services demonstration project.

In April 2020, the Indiana State Department of Health partnered with Probari to provide support to more than 500 nursing homes across the state during the pandemic.

Read more about the work of Probari

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