Top Five Reasons to Choose Hospital at Home
BY MONICA STYNCHULA, MSW, MPH
I see five compelling reasons to use this new care model if it is offered to you or a loved one.
1. Quiet, please! By this I mean, receiving care at home is quieter. Hospitals are notorious for lots of sound like the public address system, the television blaring different stations, beepers, and pings of medical technology, the squeaky carts rolling up and down the hallways. I’ll stop there. Receiving care at home is peaceful and restive for most people.
2. Care is personalized. The care team really gets to know you as a person, not the ‘knee replacement in bed 5B’ as staff often reference patients by their diagnosis and location. In fact, the care team is in your home. They walk in your shoes, sort of, or at least down the same path as you from your bed to the toilet or kitchen. It is truly patient-centered care.
3. Care team teaches and plans. Your family members become active care team members. The professionals teach families how to administer medicine, watch for signs and symptoms, teach basic transferring and personal care skills, and create action plans for chronic medical conditions to reduce the need for future hospitalizations.
4. Careful monitoring. This model is built on early detection, connected care. Technology, data, and communication devices are essential for Hospital-at-Home to succeed. In fact, remote patient monitoring equipment has become so easy to set up and use today. Additionally, many Hospital-at-Home programs send physicians or other health practitioners into the home as a rapid response team when a monitor detects a problem.
5. Less expensive than inpatient care. According to Johns Hopkins Hospital, Hospital-at-Home is 19 to 30% less expensive than inpatient care with better outcomes, fewer complications, restraints use, and deaths. The lower cost is attributed to less laboratory testing and shorter stays.
These new care models will continue to emerge in every community. Like The Jetsons, we can see the doctor from the comfort of our couch. I hope you will consider this option when the need arises.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Monica Stynchula, MSW, MPH
Monica Stynchula, MSW, MPH Monica is the CEO & Co-Founder of REUNIONCare and member of the AARP Florida Executive Council, member of the AHCA Florida Telehealth Advisory Council, Tampa Bay Elder Hunger Task Force, Aging 2.0 and HIMSS. USA representative to Seoul 50+ International Forum in Seoul, South Korea, and REUNIONCare at InnovAging in Ancona, Italy. Additionally, Monica is the Program Director of the CaregiverAccelerator.com. Monica holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and an undergraduate degree from Seton Hill University. She retrained in health information technology under the HITech Workforce Retraining from of the Affordable Care Act.
