Press release from UF Health
BY DOROTHY HAGMAJER
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — UF Health is coming home.
Patients with some health conditions — like COVID-19, pneumonia, cellulitis, urinary tract infections, and heart failure — will now have the option to receive hospital-level care at home, provided they are sufficiently healthy.
UF Health Hospital at Home, which launched Wednesday through UF Health Shands Hospital, is designed to allow patients deemed safe to treat in a home setting, to receive that care.
Inpatient care carries a host of benefits typically associated with being inside a hospital: round-the-clock care, the watchful eye of a physician, and the assurance that you’re being well taken care of.
Now, the hospital can provide all of these from the comfort of a patient’s home — often reducing their risk of infection and discomfort, and improving recovery time.
The key advantage of the program is its capability to provide high-level, hospital-grade care at home, said Irene Alexaitis, D.N.P., R.N., UF Health Shands Hospital chief nursing officer. It will also free up bedspace for patients who cannot be safely cared for at their own home.