Home Hospital increased in-patient capacity during the COVID-19 surge

A research team from Brigham and Women's Hospital has found that delivering acute care at home for non-COVID patients freed up substantial inpatient capacity during the COVID-19 surge last spring. From March 15, 2020, when Massachusetts' state of emergency restrictions took effect, until the surge ended on June 18, 2020 (defined as less than 30 patients hospitalized with COVID-19), the Brigham's Home Hospital program provided care for 65 acutely ill patients at home, amounting to 419 bed-days. In addition to freeing up beds for patients at the hospital, the Home Hospital program offered a care option for patients who may have otherwise deferred care during the pandemic. Results of the team's retrospective analysis are published in The Journal of General Internal Medicine.