Intermountain Health’s Innovative Hospital at Home Program Serves More Than 1,000 Patients.
Recently, Intermountain Health’s ground-breaking Hospital-Level Care program achieved a significant milestone: instead of admitting patients to the hospital, 1,000 patients were safely and effectively treated from home.
Patients in Utah who meet the eligibility requirements and reside close to any of the 16 Intermountain hospitals spanning from Logan to St. George may take advantage of this ground-breaking initiative. The service is offered by Castell, an Intermountain Health population health organization.
Nathan Starr, DO, medical director of home services for Castell and Intermountain Health’s tele-hospitalist program and an internal medicine physician, stated, “Our goal is to be able to offer patients the right level of care in the right place at a lower cost.” “With the use of technology, our all-inclusive in-home services can remotely monitor vital signs and provide daily in-home nurse visits, daily telehealth rounding by a medical provider, and access to 24-hour on-call nurses and physicians.” Hospital-Level Care at Home is available to Intermountain patients who meet specific clinical and non-clinical criteria and come in through an emergency department visit or have been admitted to the hospital and qualify for early transfer home.
“The program is so diverse,” said Raeme Sendzik, Intermountain Hospital-Level Care at Home operations manager. “It supports an individual’s social determinants of health and covers diverse ethnic backgrounds, diversity of age, and a variety of financial backgrounds, including people who are unhoused.” Care for patients is provided through a partnership with Castell, which helps improve patient outcomes and aims to keep costs more affordable. The services are provided by in-person in-home nurse visits, daily telehealth rounding by a medical provider, and access to 24-hour on-call nurses and physicians.
” Hospital-Level Care at Home is available to Intermountain patients who meet specific clinical and non-clinical criteria and come in through an emergency department visit or have been admitted to the hospital and qualify for early transfer home. “The program is so diverse,” said Raeme Sendzik, Intermountain Hospital-Level Care at Home operations manager.
“It supports an individual’s social determinants of health and covers diverse ethnic backgrounds, diversity of age, and a variety of financial backgrounds, including people who are unhoused.” Care for patients is provided through a partnership with Castell, which helps improve patient outcomes and aims to keep costs more affordable. The services are provided by in-person
Intermountain Homecare offers caregiver visits, while telehealth providers at the Intermountain virtual hospital in Murray, Utah, offer virtual visits and remote monitoring.
According to Anna McMillan, director of home services at Castell, “Since inception, the Hospital-Level Care at Home program has saved Intermountain over 3,000 bed days from participating hospitals and can cost patients up to 30% less than traditional hospital stays, depending on the care needed.”
“This initiative is a fantastic illustration of how Intermountain is revolutionizing the patient experience by lowering costs, increasing accessibility, and simplifying care for both patients and Intermountain,” McMillan said. There are other advantages for patients and Intermountain besides cost savings for top-notch medical treatment.
