When Kathy Irvin experienced severe respiratory illness last year, her husband rushed her to the ChristianaCare emergency room, where X-rays confirmed she had severe pneumonia. Rather than wait for a hospital bed to become available, the hospital offered Irvine another option: to receive full hospital treatment while recuperating at home.
Paramedics took Irvine home and set up a comprehensive command center in her kitchen, as well as an IV and a 24-hour oxygen monitor. Irvin recalled that nurses visited her regularly to check on her.
The home care team also interviewed Mr. Irvine's spouse to determine if he could be a suitable caregiver in his absence. “They also made it clear that under no circumstances should I leave the house until they test me,” Irvine said. Medicare and supplemental insurance will cover the costs just as they would for a hospital stay.
Although Irvine's experience is not typical, Delaware's three major health care providers (ChristianaCare, Beebe Healthcare, and orgBayhealth) continue to implement programs that provide hospital-quality care to patients while minimizing or eliminating hospitalizations.
ChristianaCare's home hospital care program was launched in December 2021 and has helped approximately 2,000 patients since then.
“At the heart of our operations, our 24/7 Command Center is staffed by virtual hospitalists, nurses, and patient digital ambassadors,” explains Sarah Schenk, MD, FACP, Executive Director, ChristianaCare Virtual Health Center. Home staff includes nurses, paramedics, skilled health workers, couriers, therapists, and technicians.
“Our home staff visits patients in their homes at least twice a day,” Schenk said. Services include x-rays, phlebotomy, meal delivery, medical equipment, IV medications, physical therapy, and more. Approximately 10 to 15 patients participate in the program at a time.
Beebe Home Health focuses on rehabilitation at home after patients are discharged from the hospital, and in some cases rehabilitation occurs earlier than if these services did not exist. “We strive to make our patients as well as their caregivers as independent as possible,” says Norrie Davis, a registered nurse and interim director of Beebe Home Health. “Our goal is to keep patients from being readmitted.
“We use Bluetooth for telehealth transmission, which is monitored by nurses,” Davis continues. “Most of our staff are nurses or physicians trained in rehabilitation, and each clinician is responsible for approximately 25 patients.”
At Bayhealth, our focus is first on keeping patients out of the hospital. “We partnered with another company in early 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, on a way to keep people out of the emergency room and instead connect them (via smartphones and computers),” said Jonathan Kaufman, DO, vice president and chief medical information officer at BayHealth. “The average wait time online is five to 10 minutes, and most of those are patients with upper respiratory tract infections or urinary tract infections.”
Bayhealth uses billboards, print advertising, and digital advertising to educate potential patients about its services.
Davis said that while quality care in the hospital is important, “people heal better at home.”
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