With successful launch, Nemours to expand its at-home care program (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Bringing a child to the hospital can be a terrifying experience for parents. But for many, going home can feel just as daunting.
Reassuring parents is the foundation of Nemours Children’s Hospital’s new at-home pediatric care program, which blends round-the-clock access to clinicians and customized medical equipment together to help medically stable children recover at home.
“What’s been really interesting to see is the feedback that we’re receiving,” said Christopher Beaty, Nemours’ vice president of operational innovation. “(Parents) feel like they have incredibly easy access, and they don’t feel alone, even in the comfort of their own home.”
Since its inception in June, more than 120 patients have enrolled in the program, returning 177 hospital days to families, preventing 27 inpatient remissions and avoiding 91 emergency department visits, according to a spokesperson.
First piloted during a phased opening in Florida, Nemours now plans to expand it into Delaware by year-end.
The move aims to position Nemours as a leader in technology-enabled pediatric care. It also plans to launch a pediatric-focused mobile integrated health program in 2026.
But telehealth isn’t a new concept in health care, nor is it unique to pediatrics.
“Pediatrics has to be behind the eight ball in leveraging enhanced technology to provide care in the home setting, just based on quality and safety,” Beaty said.
Now is the time for Nemours to capitalize on its expansive resources and infrastructure, he said, bringing this capability beyond the geographic footprint of its brick-and-mortar hospitals.
The goal is to integrate all its capabilities into one centralized model, said Dr. Jane Mericle, Nemours’ chief nursing executive (pictured above), something she called “whole child health” — part of a growing trend to focus on whole body wellness.
“We want to be caring for children, not just within the walls of a hospital or a clinic, but really considering how we look at children throughout their lives,” Mericle said. “Both in the home, in schools and in the community, it’s really putting that all together.”
Though already slated to grow across the Nemours network, the program is still in early days.
Because of that, the organization anticipated minimal third-party reimbursement, focused instead on demonstrating clinical value through case studies, advocacy and cost analysis, Mericle said.
“We’re already touching patients across multiple states, actually around the world, that come in to see our pediatric expertise,” Beaty said. “By leveraging that infrastructure, with our ability to customize the uses of all of that technology together, it gives us strategically the opportunity to continue to grow and scale outside of our own region.”
Photo courtesy of Nemours