Orlando Health expands Hospital Care at Home to serve patients in Osceola and Lake counties

Orlando, FL (March 18, 2024) Orlando Health has expanded Hospital Care at Home, a program that provides acute hospital-level care in adult patients’ homes, to serve patients in Osceola and Lake counties.  

The program, available to Orlando Health patients who meet specific clinical criteria determined by emergency department and hospital staff, is now available at Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital and Orlando Health South Lake Hospital.

It launched in February 2023 at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center and Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital then extended to Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, Orlando Health Emergency Room – Osceola, Orlando Health Emergency Room – Randal Park, Orlando Health Emergency Room – Lake Mary and Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

"In the past year, Hospital Care at Home has grown remarkably, providing exceptional healthcare services to Central Florida communities,” said Linda Fitzpatrick, assistant vice president, Orlando Health Hospital Care at Home. “We have expanded our program to meet the evolving needs of the patients we serve.”

The Orlando Health program was the first in Central Florida to be approved for Medicare and Medicaid patients and now accepts participating private insurances.

Since its inception, more than 650 patients have been cared for in the comfort of their home.

“We have seen that patients appreciate the quality of care they receive through our home healthcare model and it has led to better outcomes,” said Siddharaj G. Shah, MD, medical and quality director, Orlando Health Hospital Care at Home. “This expansion enables us to increase access to the benefits of this program for our patients in Osceola and Lake counties.”

To be eligible, a patient’s home must be a safe environment located within the determined geographical catchment area in case emergency care is required.

Medical conditions that can be cared for safely in the home-based program include, but are not limited to: cellulitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, urinary tract infection, heart failure, COVID-19, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, acute pancreatitis, multiple sclerosis flare-ups, sepsis and vasculitis.

Portable technology connects patients to the Orlando Health Patient Care Hub for 24/7 remote monitoring and virtual care by nurses and providers.

Patients receive daily in-person care from nursing team members, along with virtual provider and consultant visits. Mobile imaging, labs, dietary services and therapy are provided as ordered.

To learn more about the Orlando Health Hospital Care at Home program, visit orlandohealth.com/hospitalathome.

B-roll and patient/doctor interview at: Orlando Health HCaH Selects (vimeo.com)

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization with $9.6 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for Central Florida’s only pediatric and adult Level I Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level II Adult Trauma Center in Pinellas County. It is the home of one of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care units, one of the only systems in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health has pioneered life-changing medical research and its Graduate Medical Education program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows.

The 3,487-bed system includes 33 hospitals and emergency departments – 26 of which are currently operational with seven coming soon. The system also includes nine specialty institutes, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility under the management of Acadia Healthcare, and more than 375 outpatient facilities that include physician clinics, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care. More than 4,950 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 29,000 team members and more than 1,400 physicians.

In FY 23, Orlando Health cared for 197,000 inpatients and 6.6 million outpatients.  The healthcare system provided nearly $1.3 billion in total impact to the communities it serves in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 22, the most recent period for which this information is available.

Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.