UF Health Shands Hospital launches inpatient care at home

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — UF Health is coming home.

Patients with some health conditions — like COVID-19, pneumonia, cellulitis, urinary tract infections, and heart failure — will now have the option to receive hospital-level care at home, provided they are sufficiently healthy.

UF Health Hospital at Home, which launched Wednesday through UF Health Shands Hospital, is designed to allow patients deemed safe to treat in a home setting, to receive that care.

Inpatient care carries a host of benefits typically associated with being inside a hospital. Round-the-clock care, the watchful eye of a physician, and the assurance that you’re being well taken care of.

Now, the hospital can provide all of these from the comfort of a patient’s home — often reducing their risk of infection and discomfort, and improving recovery time.

The key advantage of the program is its capability to provide high-level, hospital-grade care at home, said Irene Alexaitis, D.N.P., R.N., UF Health Shands Hospital chief nursing officer. It will also free up bedspace for patients who cannot be safely cared for at their own home.

The program will be implemented across the UF Health Shands Hospital system.

“Ultimately, this will help us serve our patients better by providing them with an option that may fit their needs, and grant them a higher level of comfort without compromising the quality of the care they receive,” Alexaitis said.

Hospital at Home is a true substitute for high-level acute care. Here’s how it works:

Patients receive at least two visits a day from a UF Health nurse, and other providers when needed. In addition, patients are monitored by their virtual care team from afar, who can see and talk to them via video on a tablet provided by the program. The patient is fitted with wearable continuous monitoring devices that monitor vital signs continuously, allowing the care team to watch for changes and intervene, if needed.

The patient’s primary care provider is also kept apprised of any changes to their condition.

Notably, studies show that programs like Hospital at Home can reduce patients having to visit the hospital with the same issue more than once.

“Prioritizing our patients and their well-being is at the core of the UF Health Shands mission," Alexaitis said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the ways in which we can further improve what we already do well.”