Hospitalist / Intensivist Program

The mission of St. Joseph Hospital is to continually improve the health and quality of the people in the communities we serve. Every day, the hospital’s mission and values of Dignity, Service, Excellence and Justice come to life in the hands of dedicated and caring clinicians.

Acting on its mission and values, St. Joseph Hospital established the Hospitalist / Intensivist program. St. Joseph Hospital has the only program in Orange County providing board-certified Hospitalists and Intensivists 24-hours a day, seven days a week. 

What are Hospitalists and Intensivists?

Hospitalist
An internal medicine specialty physician whose primary professional focus is to care for patients in the hospital.

Intensivist
An intensive care specialist whose primary focus is to care for patients in the critical care units in the hospital.

Hospitalists and Intensivists manage patients throughout the hospital. These physicians assess patients in the Emergency Department, admit patients, arrange for specialty consultants and arrange post-hospital care. They then refer the patients back to their regular physician for outpatient care.

Hospitalists and Intensivists represent one of the most rapidly growing medical specialties in the United States. In addition to taking care of patients, Hospitalists and Intensivists are partners with the hospital in improving processes and outcomes. They participate on patient placement and collaboration teams, ethics teams and a variety of quality improvement teams.

Benefits of Having a Hospitalist or Intensivist
By focusing their practice on the care of a hospitalized patient, Hospitalists and Intensivists can gain a great deal of experience in the unique aspects of a patient’s needs during the hospital stay. A Hospitalist or Intensivist at St. Joseph Hospital can rapidly coordinate inpatient care throughout the day and react to emerging clinical data and changes in the patient’s medical status. National studies have shown Hospitalists and Intensivists improve clinical outcomes. This means patients receive the best possible care while they are in the hospital.

Caring for you at St Joseph Hospital
Your physician may request that a Hospitalist or an Intensivist take care of you while you are a patient at St Joseph Hospital. Also, if you do not have a family physician on staff at St Joseph Hospital, a Hospitalist or Intensivist will be assigned to you.

The Hospitalists and Intensivists are in communication with your primary care physician / family physician and will return you back to to the care of your physician after discharge. If you do not have a primary care physician, they will assist you in finding one.

If you have any questions about your care while you are a patient at St Joseph Hospital, ask your nurse to contact your Hospitalist or Intensivist.