Here are four things to know:
1. Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta, Ga., recently treated the first hospital-at-home patient in the state, a 92-year-old man who fell and bruised himself, according to a Feb. 5 news release.
2. As part of the program, virtual nurses monitor patients around the clock, while nurses and paramedics visit the patients at home at least twice a day for tasks like administering IV antibiotics, getting vital signs and examining the home for safety issues. Patients meet with physicians virtually once daily.
3. CMS approved Wellstar MCG for hospital at home in August 2022, the only Georgia facility to get the agency’s acute hospital care at home waiver.
4. “Advances in technology have opened opportunities for more personalized healthcare that were previously unimaginable,” said Hank Capps, MD, executive vice president and chief information and digital officer at Wellstar Health System, in the release. “We’re always looking for ways to improve the patient experience. Offering hospital-level care at home, when it’s appropriate, is the newest way that we’re providing Georgians with the compassionate care that they need.”
