WA Health System Adds At-Home Recovery Program for High-Acuity Patients

A partnership between Seattle-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) and Contessa, an Amedisys company, will provide St. Joseph Medical Center patients with at-home high-acuity care through a program known as VMFH Home Recovery Care.

Serving the Puget Sound region, VMFH is an integrated health system that is made up of 10 hospitals, 18,000 team members, nearly 5,000 employed physicians and affiliated providers, and almost 300 sites of care.

Contessa offers an at-home recovery care model that leverages all the elements of inpatient hospital care within patient homes. The model is supported by Care Convergence, Contessa's proprietary technology platform. 

Through VMFH Home Recovery Care, the organizations involved in the collaboration aim to enhance care through improvements in cost and delivery.

"As we launch VMFH Home Recovery Care, we look forward to defining a new standard for care delivery that improves patient outcomes, while lowering the overall cost of care," said Ketul J. Patel, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, in a press release. "This innovative care model allows us to offer our patients a more convenient way to receive care while increasing our inpatient capacity for patients with the highest acuity."

Patients receiving care at St. Joseph Medical Center who are eligible for the program can choose between this type of at-home care and a traditional hospital stay. Intended to treat acute conditions such as COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and pneumonia, Home Recovery Care involves the patient being transported back to their home and receiving care from staff leveraging various types of medical equipment.

Specifically, the program provides a physician-led care plan, along with a combination of in-person visits and 24/7 virtual care through a tablet. Additionally, Home Recovery Care includes the remote monitoring of vitals, such as blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, and weight, and daily health assessments.

Although the program is initially only available to Medicare fee-for-service patients, VMFH is aiming to expand the program to additional locations and patients.

Provider organizations are increasingly expanding at-home care services to improve access to care and patient outcomes.

In October 2022, the Medical University of South Carolina and the MetroHealth System collaborated to enhance healthcare delivery by providing virtual and in-home care options.

They created a company known as Ovatient to enable them to pool resources to provide a wider array of care options. Clinicians and care teams at both health systems will work to build technology to support clinical workflows and ensure care continuity. The company aims to allow the health systems to combat workforce challenges and improve access to behavioral health and specialty care providers.

Also, in October 2022, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Amedisys, and Contessa formed a partnership to create a comprehensive at-home program to provide recovery, rehabilitation, palliative, primary, and home healthcare services. Called UAMS Health Comprehensive Care at Home, the program aims to improve patient satisfaction and maintain cost-effectiveness.