Q&A with Comprehensive Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC) interviewed Karin Roemers-Kleven, RN, CWS, FACCWS, President/CEO Comprehensive Healthcare Solutions, Inc. Karin discussed the role of the company as a leader in the area of technology-based products or services for the wound care clinic setting.

Important Info
Company Name: Comprehensive Healthcare Solutions, Inc
Year the Company Was Founded: 1997
Contact Person for Sales: Karin Roemers-Kleven, RN, CWS, FACCWS
Contact (Phone and/or email):1-800-232-5070
Location (City and State): Tacoma, WA
Website: www.comprehensive-healthcare.com

Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC): What types of products does your company make or services does it provide to clinicians working in the wound care clinic setting?
Karin Roemers-Kleven (KRK): Comprehensive assists hospitals in the development of a successful wound and/or HBO program. Comprehensive can serve as a consultation or a management firm depending on the needs of the facility. Comprehensive has a passion for teaching everything a team needs to know to be able to be successful in wound care and HBO. If so desired, we can bow out after a reasonable time and let the hospital run the program independently from us.

TWC: List and describe some of your products or services and what they do?
KRK: Wound care training, wound care program implementation, HBO training, HBO program implementation, community education training and implementation, reimbursement training and guidance, regular audits (of charts, billings), on site CME events, Webinars.

TWC: Why do you consider your company a technology-based wound care company?
KRK: Everything we do requires some form of technology. Whether it is bringing a hospital HBO chambers and installing the most advanced equipment, using an EMR for documentation, whether it is teaching via a Webinar or even when we do our training in person we use technology to bring the highest quality service available. We also compare data collected from our sites and from the literature to help benchmark a clinic’s success. All our staff travels a lot to provide frequent, personal service and they stay in touch with each other and each team they are part of by email and conference calls.

TWC: How do you believe your company stands out from your competitors?
KRK: Comprehensive is known for its level of personal customer service. We come on site more often than the competition does and we are much more willing to build your program based on your already existing strengths. We do not force hospitals into a cookie cutter model and our clients still get the same awesome results. Furthermore, our flexibility in bringing HBO helps hospitals be able to obtain this technology in the way they prefer. Finally, Comprehensive does not string hospitals along in a lengthy contract. Comprehensive is a partner for an agreed time period. We teach the hospital’s team everything they need to know to be successful and then we bow out.

TWC: Are there any trends that you are currently watching in wound care and how will they affect how the clinician treats the patient in the future?
KRK: We are looking for emerging technologies that help us diagnose and heal patients faster without eroding the clinic’s financial stability. Every hospital we work with has a desire to work smarter and more cost effective. Comprehensive helps teams to figure out how to strike the balance between patient flow, quality of care, and excellent outcomes.

TWC: What is something interesting or exciting that your company is currently working on that you would like to share with our readers?
KRK: Comprehensive is really excited to get all its HBO clients surveyed and accredited by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. Of the over 800 facilities in the USA only 87 are accredited. Comprehensive believes that it is vital to exceed safety standards and be able to demonstrate that with every patient, with every dive we provide high quality care that will help the patient heal. One of our staff has been trained by each chamber manufacturer Comprehensive works with to be able to service and maintain the chambers we have in our different hospitals. Last but not least, we have been developing our own EMR having clinicians in the design phase driving the solutions programmers create.

TWC: How is your company meeting the challenges that your customers are facing today?
KRK: By being flexible in our contracting and terms Comprehensive is able to serve hospitals in a cost effective way. Our staff teaches the hospital’s team everything they need to know to run the program independent from us. We help existing wound care or HBO programs that are failing turn around so that they can continue to heal patients and we provide support to hospitals that have terminated their service provider and now need support to carry on.

TWC: Has your company noticed growth in numbers of would care clinics in the U.S. or other trends?
KRK: In this economy many hospitals are looking for ways to remain competitive, keep their patients from drifting to competing hospitals, and create additional service lines. As a result there are more and more requests for assistance. Comprehensive provides a complimentary, conservative pro forma to help a hospital decide if wound care or HBO or both is fitting into their system of care.

TWC: Has your company experimented with getting your message out via any social media or social networking and can you share anything about your experience in these areas?
KRN: Webinars: We believe in the power of teaching personally, on site, with the expert being able to bond with the participants. On the other hand, Webinars have allowed our staff to be personal and at the same time provide quality education to all our clients nationwide in a timely manner. As a result, the teams we work with have a strong knowledge base in a short period of time.

TWC: Is there anything else that you would like to tell our audience about?
KRN: Comprehensive Healthcare Solutions, Inc. is one of the very few privately held wound and hyperbaric management companies left in the USA. We are not pressured by investors to cut corners on service. Our focus is always on the success of the client. We inspire, we teach, and then we bow out.