Tri-Cities hospital opens new ‘bridge’ clinic to help at vulnerable time

Kadlec Regional Medical Center has started a new program to help make sure that once patients are discharged from the Richland hospital they get the care they need to recover without being readmitted.

It has started a new outpatient service, Kadlec Clinic Bridge Care, to bridge the gap in follow-up care for adults discharged from the Kadlec hospital or its emergency departments if they don’t have a primary care provider or can’t promptly get in to see their regular doctor.

“The first 30 days after discharge is a very vulnerable and important time,” said Racheal Inman, manager of the Kadlec Clinic Bridge Care and Population Health. “There are discharge orders and often new medications and referrals.”

Patients who experience high stress after discharge are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, she said. And patients who can’t get care after leaving the hospital or being treatment for an emergency may repeatedly return to emergency departments and urgent care clinics.

“With this clinic, we want to make sure that patients have time with a provider and staff who can help them connect with resources and navigate their care to get everything they need,” Inman said.

The goal is not only better outcomes for people who have been hospitalized, had a medical emergency or received a difficult diagnosis at an urgent care clinic.

Reducing repeat hospitalizations or repeated visits to emergency departments and urgent care clinic, reduces the stress on those services and makes them more available for all patients.

Patients are referred to the clinic, if needed, when they leave the hospital or other Kadlec care, and then seen at the clinic until they can establish care with a doctor or other primary care provider for the long term.

Services from the clinic include health condition management, medication management, patient education, care coordination, social services, and case management to connect patients to resources, and assistance establishing with a long-term primary care provider.

It is being staffed with an internal medicine doctor, with the possibility of more care providers added as needed.

Kadlec Clinic Bridge Care is in the Corrado Building in Richland near the main hospital building and is open weekdays, but closes at noon Fridays. Both virtual and in-person appointments are available.

This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 12:50 PM.