This holiday season, Lee Health is giving the community the gift of receiving safe, high-quality care — at a level previously only available within the hospital — from the comfort of their own home.
The health system is thrilled to announce its new Hospital at Home program, which launched at Gulf Coast Medical Center in November with plans to go live at other Lee Health hospitals in the future.
Patients who would normally stay at a hospital may have the option to rest and recover in their beds and stay home for the holidays.
To start, Hospital at Home will focus on five diagnoses, including pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), urinary tract infection requiring hospitalization and cellulitis.
Fort Myers resident Wendy Markman knows firsthand how comforting it can be to receive high-level care from the comfort of her own home.
A week before Thanksgiving, Markman fell ill during a day out and was taken by ambulance to the hospital where it was discovered that she had pneumonia.
“I thought I’d rather sleep at home,” Markman said. “My husband doesn’t drive so it would be difficult for him to come see me at the hospital. Plus, the idea that he would be with me at all times was comforting.”
Markman would become the first patient of Lee Health’s Hospital at Home program.
Hospital at Home utilizes the latest technology so patients can access expert care from hospital staff around the clock. Patients admitted to Hospital at Home receive:
- In-home assessments and treatments administered by Lee Health nurses
- Regular and as-needed video visits from a doctor or nurse
- Monitoring for temperature, pulse regularity and other important indicators of health status
- Medications, IV infusions, testing, imaging and therapy brought to the home
- Food prepared and packaged by Lee Health Food & Nutrition Services and delivered by Hospital at Home courier
Markman was issued an iPad with a lead to monitor her vitals. A pulse oximetry device reported her blood saturation level every hour via the iPad, along with her blood pressure.
On the second night during her hospital at home stay, Markman wanted to leave her bed and stretch her legs with a short walk around her house.
“It was 2 a.m. and I was receiving oxygen but I didn’t have it on so I could walk around. While doing that, the iPad rang. My husband answered and it was the nurses who were monitoring me. They said I had to get back in bed because they saw my oxygen level had dropped,” Markman said. “Don’t do that again, they said,” she recalls with a laugh about the stern but loving care she received.
“It was amazing that they could monitor my vitals and oxygen. They knew exactly what was going on with me.”
“My recovery was quicker because I was at home and I could move around,” she said. “The biggest thing was that I was able to get good sleep, which made a huge difference.”
Home-based hospital care has been tested and implemented at several well-known and well-regarded health systems, such as Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, and Lee Health is looking forward to bringing this new healthcare option to the Lee County community.
“There is significant evidence showing that home-based hospital care improves outcomes and enhances patient experiences,” said Jennifer Higgins, Chief Nursing Officer at Lee Health. “We can now take care of patients with lower acuity illnesses in the comfort of their own homes with the same technology, constant communication and compassionate care they’d receive in a hospital setting—in a space where we know they tend to heal better.”
To learn more about Lee Health’s Hospital at Home program, please visit www.leehealth.org.
Video available here: https://we.tl/t-ZWd2XwTghD
