OSF HealthCare Newsroom

OSF OnCall Digital Hospital patient: ‘I felt so connected and safe’

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 08:55:52 -0600

Most people would rather be in their own bed than in the unfamiliar surroundings of a hospital room and experiencing anxiety that can often come with a hospital stay.

OSF OnCall, the digital arm of OSF HealthCare, launched its Digital Hospital in August. At launch, eligible patients with certain conditions who end up in the Emergency Department at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria could be admitted to the OSF OnCall Digital Hospital where they receive hospital-level care in the comfort of their own home. Now, OSF OnCall is expanding this care to include patients who have been admitted to a larger variety of OSF Saint Francis inpatient departments, including those transitioning out of ICU, with more continuing to be added. Eligible patients must meet medical, geographic and insurance requirements.

Pam Anderson of Morton was eager to try the Digital Hospital program almost immediately. Anderson works a part-time job at a moving and storage business and lives with her retired husband, Mike. She has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and atrial fibrillation. The day after Thanksgiving, Anderson woke up and was having trouble catching her breath. Her oxygen level had fallen to about 80%. She was sent to the Emergency Department at OSF Saint Francis.

Once she was stabilized and admitted, the next day Anderson was approached about transferring into the Digital Hospital. She was immediately sold. By the time she returned home after discharge, a team had set up the equipment, technology and supplies she needed, including oxygen. An OSF OnCall Mission Partner (employee) walked her through using the equipment. Anderson, who describes herself as not computer literate, says everything was so easy to use.

Easy-to-use technology

“The phone … you don't dial it. You just pick it up and it rings directly to the (digital health) center. And once you do that, then somebody will appear on the iPad. So, if you do need something, you're actually speaking to someone (you can see). You're not just talking on the phone. And, they're extremely prompt in answering. So there really isn't, in my opinion, a lot of technology involved. Thank heavens,” Anderson says with a laugh.

Anderson never had to use that phone in the middle of the night, but she was comforted knowing she could and that she would be instantly connected. Patients also wear a bracelet with a button they can press to be connected immediately to a care team member. Readings Anderson took on her own from a blood pressure cuff or pulse oximeter went directly to caregivers and her electronic health record. Anderson says she felt, “completely connected and safe.”

Her schedule for the day appeared every morning on the tablet, which is provided to individuals admitted to the OSF OnCall Digital Hospital. She laughs about actually looking forward to the twice-daily visits from nurses who checked her medication, took vitals, and made sure she was on the road to recovery, all while smiling and sharing laughs.

“The nurses and aides are absolutely fabulous. They're friendly; they're well informed. They explain everything to you. Always cheerful. I mean I absolutely adored them. I missed them when they were no longer coming.”

Home-delivered meals

Like other patients who’ve been able to qualify for the at-home admission, Anderson says it was great to be home with her three dogs and husband and to have three meals a day delivered right to her door from the hospital kitchen.

“I found the food really good. So yeah, that really worked out nice also. My husband doesn't really know how to cook much. He tries but he's not very good at it. So that was absolutely ideal.”

Anderson says at-home hospital care is easier on family and friends because there’s no need to worry about navigating hospital parking or bad weather. She recalls her in-laws and friends casually stopping by for short visits because it was so easy. And then there’s the ability to sleep so much better – all wins for Anderson who is fully recovered and back at her part-time job.

“I think a lot of times with illness, your frame of mind also helps. And I think this just puts you in a more positive frame of mind and I think you recover sooner. You're more relaxed. You're not worried. ‘When am I going home? When am I going home?’ You're already there!,” Anderson says as she smiles widely.

OSF OnCall Digital Hospital also provides other clinical services typically delivered in a hospital such as physical, speech and occupational therapy and IV infusion services. It helps keep bed space available for those who need it most. That was a lesson reinforced during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when hospitals were strained to capacity. Research reveals hospital-at-home programs also reduce hospital readmissions and can reduce care delivery costs by as much as 30%.

OSF OnCall leaders say the goal is to continue to increase the average daily Digital Hospital patient count at OSF Saint Francis, and then expand to other hospitals and medical centers in the OSF HealthCare Ministry.

Video clips with OSF OnCall Digital Hospital patient Pam Anderson of Morton

OSF OnCall Digital Hospital B-roll

OSF OnCall hosts virtual job fair for Digital Hospital

Mon, 16 May 2022 12:12:00 -0500

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare is hosting a virtual job fair to hire certified nursing assistants (CNAs), registered nurses (RNs), advanced practice providers (APPs), and physicians for its OSF OnCall Digital Hospital. The “digital hospital at home” model provides hospital-level acute care services 24/7 with a combination of in-person care and a digital command center that provides coordination, navigation, and continuity of care throughout the patient’s journey.

The Virtual Career Fair for job openings is from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. Applicants must pre-register using this link: OSF HealthCare Digital Hospital Event (brazenconnect.com).

Those hired as an OSF Mission Partner (employee) will work at the OSF OnCall building at 330 SW Adams Street in downtown Peoria. The positions are unique in that they allow individuals to provide care virtually.

Manager of Digital Care Melissa Meier, MSN, RN says, “The OSF OnCall Digital Hospital is the perfect mix of both in-person care and 24/7 telehealth connectivity that allows patients to remain in the comfort of their own home.”

The online event will allow applicants to talk via phone, tablet or computer with a member of the OSF hiring team; providing an option that breaks through conventional barriers so those who are interested can immediately ask questions to learn if the position and OSF HealthCare is a good fit. The connection could lead to a longer encounter, with an opportunity to be hired on the spot, pending final review.

B-roll of Digital Hospital Nurse

How technology facilitates chronic care management

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 13:07:00 -0500

“It’s about pushing ourselves to meet them (patients) where we can, but setting realistic expectations that telehealth can’t be all things to all patients," OSF Vice President of Digital Care Brandi Clark told health leaders during a virtual online summit focused on how technology can help people with chronic diseases.

Clark emphasized that specially trained community health workers provide the human touch in communities, paired with technology, to help patients manage conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart failure. During a Technology NOW with HealthLeaders! virtual summit panelists, including Clark, envision a future where patients will knowingly share data from wearables or in-home technology to prevent chronic disease and to help providers spot potential trends managing an existing medical condition.

Watch the entire HealthLeaders session.

OSF announces new partnership for Hospital at Home Service

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 16:24:46 -0600

OSF HealthCare is partnering with Medically Home Group, Inc. to establish an Acute Care at Home Program, which will enable Peoria-based OSF HealthCare to provide hospital-level, high-acuity care to patients in the comfort and convenience of their own homes. OSF has selected for a partner, a company that’s quickly becoming the leader in hospital at home services, having announced earlier this month that it has attracted $110 million from strategic investors including Baxter International Inc., Global Medical Response (GMR) and Cardinal Health. Cardinal Health, Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente are providing additional capital on top of their previous investments, demonstrating confidence in the growing expansion of the model nationwide.

In January 2021, OSF HealthCare opened its OSF OnCall Digital Health building – essentially a hospital without the bricks and mortar. This new program will serve as an extension to OSF’s current digital health capabilities, offering hospital-level services at home to even more patients who would otherwise require hospitalization for serious illnesses including chronic diseases (such as heart failure and COPD), infections (such as pneumonia and cellulitis), and post-surgical hospitalizations, as well as for COVID-19.

Under the program, OSF HealthCare physicians and nurses in a medical command center will monitor and care for patients in their homes 24/7. Patients will have access to hospital-level medical services (ranging from IV therapies, oxygen treatments, and lab tests – even X-rays and ultrasounds) without having to leave their homes, and without the disruption, stress, and potential isolation that can be experienced by those hospitalized.

Clinical studies have shown that home hospitalization delivers improved patient outcomes, including: lower mortality rates and a reduced risk for readmissions along with higher patient and clinician satisfaction, and increased cost savings. Patients of OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria will be the first to have the OSF OnCall Hospital at Home option starting in the summer, with plans to extend the program.

Medically Home is decentralizing the delivery of patient care with a platform that provides a command center and technology that manages the logistics and coordination of all care in the home to enable safe, high-acuity care for patients with serious or complex illness. The platform also offers decision support to clinicians caring for those patients, and the collection and proper handling of patient vitals and other data, integrating them into the patient’s electronic medical record.

“Medically Home’s model is designed to enable health systems to safely shift lower and higher-acuity medical care from hospitals to patients’ homes where they prefer to receive it and when they need it,” said Brandi Clark, vice president of Digital Care, OSF OnCall. “We are excited to be able to offer this new and enhanced service later this year as we continue to work to do what is best for patients in the communities we have been called to serve.”