This is a picture of nurses standing in a hallway videochating another healthcare worker.

Hospitalist Program

What is a Hospitalist?

A Hospitalist is a dedicated physician or advanced practice provider (APP) specializing in treating patients in a hospital setting. Franklin Hospital's Hospitalist physicians are internal medicine specialists.

What are the benefits of care from a Hospitalist?

Because Hospitalists specialize in hospital medicine, studies have found that patients treated by Hospitalists do better than hospitalized patients treated by their regular doctors. Hospitalists are familiar with the hospital staff and specialist physicians and the hospital's policies and procedures, ensuring that the highest quality of care is provided to each patient. Following a patient's release, they will return to the care of their own healthcare provider.

Hospitalists are available to Franklin Hospital's patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing the focused attention required to coordinate the best possible patient care. The hospitalist monitors your progress and communicates with you, your family, and your primary care physician.

How does the program work?

During your stay at Franklin Hospital, you will receive most of your care from our APP Hospitalists, Tashia Fox or Josh Smith. In addition, a hospitalist physician from Integritas Hospitalist Services makes daily rounds via Telemedicine, seven days per week, in our inpatient unit. The APP Hospitalist providers make daily bedside visits and communicate with your regular doctor and other Franklin Hospital specialists, as needed. In addition to daily Telemedicine rounds, the Integritas Hospitalist Services physicians are available for consultation 24/7 with our nursing staff, should the need arise.

What happens when I go home?

When you are discharged, your Hospitalist will summarize your treatment and coordinate your care plan with your personal doctor to ensure seamless continuity of care. If you do not have a primary care physician, your Hospitalist and Franklin Hospital discharge planners will refer you to a local clinic for follow-up care and coordinate treatment with that clinic.