A Florida health system has expanded its hospital-at-home program after a successful launch.
Here are six things to know, according to a May 12 news release:
1. Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health rolled out hospital at home in November at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers and has since treated 140 patients with the care model.
2. In early May, the health system expanded the program, accepting its first patients from Cape Coral (Fla.) Hospital.
3. Under the care model, acute care patients receive hospital-level care at home, with the help of remote patient monitoring technology and medical equipment, in-person visits from nurses and virtual appointments with physicians.
4. “Patients with lower acuity illnesses can recover from the comfort of their own homes with the same technology, constant communication and compassionate care they’d receive in a hospital setting — in a place where they’re most comfortable,” program director Kristy Dutton, MSN, RN, said in the release. “The Hospital at Home program will also help create more space and access to essential care for Cape Coral residents and visitors. It’s a big win for the community.”
5. Lee Health’s program focuses on five main diagnoses: pneumonia, COPD, congestive heart failure, urinary tract infection that requires hospitalization, and cellulitis.
6. Florida has become a hub for hospital-at-home care, with major health systems such as Cleveland Clinic, Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth operating programs there.
