Time in the hospital is something many people want to avoid, even when they need care. To meet patients where they are, Mercy and Maribel Health in the US are designing the future of hospital-level care in the comfort of a patient’s home. The two organizations have signed a multi-year agreement to co-develop advanced care at-home programs, including Mercy Hospital @ Home.
“Hospitals will always be needed, though we must think differently in order to meet the changing needs of our patients,” said Ursula Wright, a family nurse practitioner and Mercy vice president of clinical redesign and optimization. “When someone is in the hospital, it can be difficult for them and create challenges for their loved ones in a variety of ways. For select patients, Mercy Hospital @ Home will reduce those burdens and provide patients a familiar environment where they can heal with the same high-quality care they expect from Mercy.”
The program is designed to cover every aspect of clinically appropriate care, mirroring what is provided in the hospital, but instead providing it at home where patients can recover more comfortably. A dedicated team of acute care-level doctors and nurses will oversee patients through a combination of in-person and virtual visits. Patients will receive monitoring equipment, medication, therapy and other services as needed.
“We know from Mercy’s virtual care experience over the past decade that providing care at home gives us insight to better understand and advise patients in their own environment,” Wright said.
Mercy plans to initiate the program in the St. Louis region this summer and eventually expand across the states it serves. Medicare patients who fit certain criteria will opt in to receive their care at home rather than being admitted to a hospital unit. Care coordinators will work with patients and their families to ensure necessary support is available, depending on the patient’s individual needs.
“When delivered appropriately and with experience, we know the home supports the lowest cost, highest quality and safest care,” said Dr. John Mohart, president of Mercy communities, who leads operations for all Mercy hospitals. “We also know capacity constraints and staffing challenges across the U.S. demand a new way of thinking about hospital care. Mercy chose Maribel because they have decades of both health system and home-based care experience. They bring a track record of entrepreneurial success using technology to transform how care is provided in a home setting. With Maribel, Mercy is building an integrated, advanced care at home experience across our multi-state footprint. This innovative care at home will open up new capacity and provide the care that many people in our communities want.”
Maribel Health, a turnkey partner for health systems looking to design, build and operate a full continuum of advanced home and community services, brings operating expertise and novel technology to help hospitals sustainably expand capacity through advanced clinical care capabilities in the home and community. Its mission is to make home the center of the health system so that all patients have access to high-quality, reliable and compassionate care in the comfort of their own home.
"The combination of patient preference, evolving technology capabilities, Emergency Department and hospital congestion combined with workforce shortages are collectively driving the home to be the default site of care,” said Dr. Ronald Paulus, Maribel co-founder and chief executive officer. "Hospital at home is just one example of a broad range of advanced care in the home that can be delivered with improved clinical outcomes, greater efficiency and most importantly enhanced patient and consumer experience.”
Maribel's team of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, health care entrepreneurs and technologists has overseen more than 15,000 hospital-at-home admissions, led the design of over a dozen successful advanced care-at-home programs, advised more than 100 hospitals and health systems, and designed, developed and deployed technology used in the care of more than 8 million patients. Mercy, with nearly two decades of virtual care experience and a successful track record of caring for chronically ill patients at home, treats approximately 200,000 hospital patients each year, in addition to the millions it serves across its clinics and other care settings.
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