A hands-on medical director, Dr. Amy Ehrlich is intricately involved in Montefiore Home Care’s day-to-day operations. She is a strong advocate who truly understands where home care fits into the entire Medical Center network.
Dr. Ehrlich especially appreciates home care’s role in transitions of care, building critical bridges with physicians, home care providers, ambulatory care, and other stakeholders to reduce readmissions and achieve other quality-of-care goals.
Nothing is too small nor too big for Dr. Ehrlich, whether it’s calling a peer physician and getting orders signed timely or running very complex case conferences throughout the network. She never takes her eye off of what is most important: the care for the patient and his or her family.
Dr. Ehrlich has provided countless hours of ongoing education for Montefiore Home Care clinicians on disease processes, clinical pathways, specialty programs, and, most recently, the coronavirus.
This year Dr. Ehrlich’s wisdom and commitment to home care were put to the greatest test in the pandemic.
She helped establish infection-control policies, provided education on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements to make sure home care workers were protected, and worked to align home care processes with the hospital to help care for patient’s post-discharge.
Through Dr. Ehrlich’s leadership, Montefiore developed a post-acute COVID-19 rehab program that has helped more than 300 patients who were sent home from hospitals with oxygen.
Dr. Ehrlich’s knowledge and support have contributed to a high vaccination rate among staff. She is available to answer staff questions about getting the vaccine and has been instrumental in Montefiore’s initiative to vaccinate home care patients.
ABOUT THE AWARD
The Physician Home Care Champion Award recognizes a physician in New York State who has demonstrated a strong and model commitment to home care patients and agency partners.