Over the past decade a hospitalist model of care has been developed at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital to provide the best quality care for hospitalized adult patients. While you are at FMH, you will be cared for by a group of doctors known as hospitalists. A hospitalist is a doctor who specializes in the care of hospitalized patients.

Our hospitalists form a comprehensive inpatient group of doctors available 24 hours a day for your care. With this model, your hospital care is more responsive, effective, and efficient. Our hospitalists are all board certified and have valuable subspecialties that blend together to form a team with a wide range of expertise. They perform general medical care, intensive care, and admissions & consultations for all specialty medicine.

You may see several hospitalists during your stay. Rest-assured, each is fully aware of every important aspect of your health, having shared a verbal report with each other each morning. Detailed notes are also written to ensure clear communication. You and your family are also encouraged to ask questions and share your thoughts.

During your stay at FMH, our Hospitalists communicate with your primary healthcare provider regarding your health, and deliver a summary of your care upon your discharge. This ensures a smooth transition of your health care. 

During your stay you may be treated by one of our hospitalists.

What is a Hospitalist?
Hospitalists are physicians who are responsible for a patient’s care and treatment during their stay in the hospital. They begin caring for the patient at hospital admission and continue that care all the way to discharge. Throughout their patient’s stay, they coordinate communication between all of the physicians involved in your care, including your primary care physician and your specialists. They order tests and procedures and are committed to doing their best to provide a consistently high level of care during your hospital stay. All of Foundation Health Partners' hospitalist physicians are board certified or board eligible in their respective specialties. Once a patient is discharged, the care of the patient returns to his/her primary care (regular) doctor.

What benefits do hospitalists offer patients?
Hospitalists are dedicated exclusively to the care of hospitalized patients. What that means for patients is that a hospitalist is always close by. They are available seven days a week, 24-hours a day, and will see a patient more than once a day, if needed. By being readily available, hospitalists are able to review the progress of a patient’s care more frequently and make decisions to ensure treatment is not delayed. Additionally, because our hospitalists practice medicine within the halls of the hospital, they know the specialists and departments available to assist patients through a smooth and speedy recovery process. They can also follow up on tests and adjust treatment throughout the day based on test results or changes in condition or progress.

Patient communication — personal interaction
Hospitalists, because they are in the hospital all day, look for opportunities to speak with patients and family members face-to-face whenever possible. Hospitalizations are stressful and hospitalists provide honest and caring answers to patients’ questions. Hospitalists understand that good communication about care and treatment options is essential.

Where does my primary care doctor fit in?
Primary care doctors refer patients to a hospitalist when a patient can no longer be cared for in an outpatient setting and that patient requires inpatient hospitalization. Following discharge from the hospital, each patient will return to the care of his/her regular, primary care physician.