Tampa General Hospital Launches Hospital at Home Program

TAMPA, Florida—Tampa General Hospital (TGH) has announced it is launching the TGH Crystal River’s Hospital at Home program, which provides patients living in Citrus County to receive care in the comfort of their own home. TGH Crystal River’s Hospital at Home program gives eligible patients the opportunity to stay home while receiving best-in-class clinical hospital care.

“TGH at Home is a true model of innovation, integrating high-tech applications such as remote patient monitoring and telehealth visits with in-person care by trained health care providers,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Florida Health Sciences Center at Tampa General Hospital. “We can give patients what they really want: world-class care in their own environment. In addition to enhancing the patient experience, Hospital at Home care has been shown to improve clinical quality.”

To be enrolled in TGH at Home, patients must be seen in the emergency department or admitted to the hospital for evaluation and, with patient consent, transferred to the TGH at Home program. Patients with certain conditions that can be cared for safely at home include:

• Congestive heart failure (CHF)
• Urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Cellulitis
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Diabetes

During their in-home care treatment, patients receive at least two in-person visits per day by a member of the TGH at Home clinical team. In addition to in-person care, TGH said it is working with United States-based telehealth provider VSee. This virtual health platform allows patients to conduct telehealth visits with providers via TGH at Home iPads. The equipment is provided at no additional cost and is continually monitored by the care team.

Using this technology, the TGH at Home care team of doctors and nurses stays in close contact with each patient to monitor their condition and make any necessary treatment changes for optimal recovery. Should they have a question or concern, patients have around-the-clock access to health care professionals. In order for the care team to respond in a timely manner, patients must live within a 30-minute drive from a TGH hospital or emergency department. In the unlikely event of an emergency, the care team will facilitate transport from the patient’s home to the hospital or other emergency care as needed.

“TGH at Home is all about improving access to care and the patient experience,” said Linda Stockton, senior vice president and president, TGH Crystal River. “Patients are thoroughly evaluated to determine if their medical condition makes them a candidate for TGH at Home. They receive elements of world-class hospital care in their home with supportive nursing care and, most importantly, their family. We know that patients have a better recovery when surrounded by what is familiar to them.”