Mercy Hospital in Washington, MO, announced on Monday the expansion of its virtual program to care for select COVID-19 patients at home. Through the new initiative, healthcare workers will offer 24-hour remote, in-home care for patients with mild symptoms who may need low-flow rates of oxygen.
This care includes the measurement of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry and adjusting oxygen flow as necessary, along with additional evaluations and appropriate interventions.
“We have learned that not all patients who were admitted at the onset of COVID-19 need to be hospitalized,” said Carter Fenton, DO, medical director of Mercy Virtual vAcute. “By caring for select patients at home, with ongoing monitoring and management, we can reserve the hospital beds for those with more serious disease symptoms.”
Should such a patient’s medical condition worsen at home, an emergency medicine physician will help determine the type of care they needed: in-home visit or an evaluation in one of the outpatient clinic offerings or hospital setting.
