New Haven, CT (March 13, 2024) – Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS), which launched the Home Hospital program in 2022 to provide hospital-level care to patients in their homes, reached a milestone by caring for the 1000th patient last week. The Home Hospital program serves patients meeting certain clinical and social criteria who live within 25 miles of Yale New Haven or Bridgeport hospitals. Yale New Haven Health partners with a vendor, Medically Home, to provide program services. The Home Hospital program is growing and is expected to expand to other YNHHS hospitals in the future.
The 1000th patient to receive care was Debbi Kinell of North Haven.
“I was in the hospital on Friday, March 1 receiving fluids and after consulting the medical team. we decided that there was no sense being in the hospital and taking up a bed where someone who was much more seriously ill could be benefit,” said Kinnell. “The way the nurses and doctors made all the arrangements from the transportation home, getting all the equipment set up, it was just so easy. It could not have been a more patient-friendly program.”
“I think the positivity stems from several things. First, you are in your own bed, in familiar surroundings and you have your own bathroom and your own food. For me, that meant much less stress and I think I healed much faster. But the reason I was so impressed with Home Hospital care was my mother was one of the first patients Home Hospital cared for right after it began in 2022. My mother has benefited from the Home Hospital program twice now and the care she received was wonderful. That was how I knew it would be a great option for me.”
The Home Hospital program provides acute care to patients who would otherwise need to be in the hospital. Through a combination of in-person visits and telehealth technology, the program brings a range of hospital services to the homes of patients with heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cellulitis, sepsis, COVID and other conditions.
“Since the program’s inception in 2022, we have shown that patients can receive the same quality of care in their homes, that we can do it safely, consistently and with increased patient satisfaction,” said Carly Brown, MD, senior medical director, Clinical Operations and Home Hospital medical director. “We believe that this program is an important and pivotal part of the future of medicine. It’s an honor to be a part of if it.”
Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS), the largest and most comprehensive healthcare system in Connecticut, is recognized for advanced clinical care, quality, service, cost effectiveness and commitment to improving the health status of the communities it serves. YNHHS includes five hospitals – Bridgeport, Greenwich, Lawrence + Memorial, Westerly and Yale New Haven hospitals, several specialty networks and Northeast Medical Group, a non-profit medical foundation with several hundred community-based and hospital-employed physicians. YNHHS is affiliated with Yale University and Yale Medicine, the clinical practice of the Yale School of Medicine and the largest academic multi-specialty practice in New England. Yale New Haven Hospital is the primary teaching hospital of Yale School of Medicine. www.ynhhs.org
