A Florida health system recently cared for its 1,000th patient through its hospital-at-home program.
Rockledge, Fla.-based Health First launched the care model in 2021 to open up hospital capacity during the pandemic, becoming one of the first such programs in the state. The initiative now treats a variety of acute care conditions at home — including urinary tract infection, simple pneumonia, and cellulitis — via remote monitoring technology and in-home and virtual visits from clinicians.
"I'm incredibly proud of every member of our team that helped realize this milestone, from those who imagined and envisioned a model of providing acute-care, hospital-level medicine outside of the physical walls of a hospital to those who provide compassionate round-the-clock care and monitoring," said Joseph Lavelle, Health First's vice president overseeing the program, in a June 4 statement.
Health First said the program, which is available for patients presenting at any of the health system's four Central Florida hospitals, will undergo "rapid growth" in the years ahead.