Care at Home: Everything You Need to Know About “Kent Hospital at Home”

The Kent Hospital at Home (HaH) program provides quality care from the comfort of your home. This unique program launched in January 2022 and is the first of its kind in the state of Rhode Island.

This “inpatient” care model provides a full spectrum of hospital treatment in your own home. The best part? Patients who qualify for the HaH program have access to a clinical provider 24/7.

How does the Hospital at Home program work?

The goal of Kent Hospital at Home is to provide a good support system at home for qualifying patients who are medically stable but require close monitoring.

Doctors make a house-call every day. But the care doesn’t stop there. Patients are seen by a nurse twice a day. But wait, there’s more. Hospital at Home patients wear a patch that connects to a tablet at the hospital. This is how providers can monitor a patient’s vitals including:

• Heart rate
• Oxygen levels
• Respiration
• Blood pressure
• More

These vitals are closely monitors all day and in real-time. Every HaH treatment plan is different, to accommodate the different needs of patients. So, it’s not a one-size-fits all program.  Along with access to a healthcare provider 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – patients will have tele-health options.

Who qualifies for Kent Hospital at Home?

The HaH program is not for everyone. Patients with serious and changing conditions or symptoms - would likely not be candidates. This program best serves patients who are medically stable but might require close monitoring.

“For patients who are stable and have relatively simple needs, we can provide excellent treatment at home,” says Dr. Michael Lee, Medical Director for Hospital at Home.

Often HaH patients are identified in the emergency department or on the hospital floors. This is true for Beverly Grimshaw. Beverly called 911 with symptoms related to congestive heart failure. Normally, she would have been admitted to the hospital- not this time, though. The HaH team met Beverly in the emergency department and determined she was a good candidate for the program.

“One of the target populations of patients we take care of in these kinds of programs is older adults, like Beverly,” says Dr. Ana Tuya Fulton, Chief Population Officer at Kent Hospital.

What are the benefits of Hospital at Home?

The HaH program combines the best of the old healthcare system - doctor house calls - with the newest advances in technology. Allowing a patient to remain at home during treatment has several benefits for both the patient and the hospital.

1. Helps with capacity issues: With a limited number of hospital beds – it’s not uncommon for a medical facility to be at capacity. The Hospital at Home program helps to keep hospitalization numbers down and frees up beds for patients in serious or critical condition.
2. Cuts down on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs): Patients are at risk of contracting an infection while hospitalized. Common HAIs include MRSA, Urinary Tract Infections, and Sepsis. When a patient can be treated at home vs. in a hospital setting – the chances of contracting one of these potentially dangerous infections significantly decreases.
3. Better healing process: According to HaH’s medical director, Dr. Michael Lee, patients heal better and faster when they are in the comfort of their own home - eating their own food and sleeping in their own bed.

Hospital at Home reviews:

“A hospital stay is frightening,” says HaH participant Gwendolyn Zangari. “Being at home has been a blessing – to be with my husband; to have my own food; to have my own bed.”

“Nobody needs to second-guess when the doctor tells you about this program,” says Beverly Grimshaw, HaH participant. “It’s top-notch.”

“Being in the home environment helped her heal that much more quickly," says Gregg Grimshaw, son of HaH participant.

Learn more about Kent Hospital at Home by visiting: https://www.kentri.org/services/kent-hospital-at-home

Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational and educational purposes only and should not serve as medical advice, consultation, or diagnosis.  If you have a medical concern, please consult your healthcare provider, or seek immediate medical treatment.