“I got the same results I would have if I was in the hospital, but I was home.”

When Cliff had trouble breathing, his wife took him to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. The nearly 80-year-old lives with claustrophobia and was fearing nights alone in a hospital room. That’s when he was approached about Gundersen Home Hospital. He eagerly enrolled into the program.

“I was sent home at 4:30 pm and received an oxygen system with six tanks. A nurse came out with a kit that included a pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff, scale, thermometer and tablet. He really took care of me and spent a lot of time with me and my wife,” said Johnson.

Cliff’s acute care registered nurse saw him in his home twice a day and used the tablet to round with his providers. Within days, Johnson was back on his feet.

Gundersen Home Hospital, which brings all the essential elements of hospital care to the comfort of a patients’ home, launched through a partnership with Contessa in May 2021. Patients can be admitted to the program from the emergency department, like Johnson, or from the inpatient floor once they are stabilized. Gundersen Home Hospital frees up beds for the sickest patients while still providing hospital-level care to more patients.

For Cliff, healing at home was ideal. In addition to keeping his claustrophobia at bay, he appreciated being at home with his “bride of 59 years.” He notes that help was just a phone call away, and everyone he worked with was kind and helpful.

“It’s a wonderful program. It was very simple for me and my wife. I got the same results I would have if I was in the hospital, but I was home.”