“This program is fantastic. It makes you accountable for your success.” 

Even when you have a positive outlook on life, sometimes you need an extra boost.  

Although active in his older years, Mark found himself in the hospital for heart bypass surgery and discovered he would need to spend some time recovering and regaining strength after the procedure. He had a couple of options — transition to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) after his hospital discharge, or enroll in an alternative: Allegheny Health Network’s Home Recovery Care Plus, an at-home rehabilitation program that takes the place of a SNF admission. 

The program offers nursing visits in the home daily during the initial recovery process, then transition to an as-needed basis. Remote monitoring, home infusions and wound care are also provided as appropriate. Physical therapists or occupational therapists visit daily throughout the acute phase of rehabilitation, just as they would in a skilled nursing facility. As patients transition through their recovery process, a Recovery Care Coordinator is available for ongoing monitoring of their progress over a 60-day period, and helps ensure follow-up care is arranged. 

“Several of the nurses and staff members at the hospital, who I truly respected and who took very good care of me, recommended it,” Mark recalls of the program. “I said, ‘Sounds like a good opportunity. Let me talk with my family.’” After finding out that he qualified for admission and that it was covered by his insurance, he discussed the possibility with his son, who he lives with. “After spending six weeks in the hospital, I simply did not want to spend an additional 4-6 weeks in a skilled nursing facility. But I told my son, ‘I’ll go to the skilled nursing facility if it will be easier for you.’” 

Careful attention to safety and recovery 

But Mark’s son insisted he go home with the program. Together with the staff from Home Recovery Care Plus, they worked out options for Mark to always have a family member or friend available in case he needed extra help, and he says, “After that, it was pretty much a no-brainer.” Following his hospital stay, he returned home as a patient in the program.  

Mark shares, “One of our concerns was having ‘strangers’ in and out of our house daily for the next six weeks. Fortunately, it only took a couple days to find out that each nurse was polite, clean, fun, professional, kind and non-judgmental.”  

He soon discovered that their careful attention to his recovery and safety was crucial to his healing: “Just knowing that I had someone to contact for help in an emergency was comforting and that extra support helped my recovery. With each daily visit, the staff knew when to push and when to back off. They told me, ‘You’ll get there, but you need to do it gradually,’” he laughed. “It was always something they were working on, but in a controlled fashion. They had a detailed plan of action, and it was a good one that was tailored to the goals we agreed on.” 

An enjoyable healing process

“I knew the program was going to be fun and interesting when a big box arrived by carrier on day one,” Mark recalls. “It included a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, thermometer, scale and computer notebook. Most of the devices would collect my vitals data and send it to the notebook which in turn would send it to the home office. It was impressive!”   

“I enjoyed this program so much,” he added. “I looked forward to each of them coming every day, and I actually practiced the skills they gave me for ‘homework’ each day. Even the virtual check-ins were something to look forward to — the person on the phone would always say, ‘Hey, how are you doing, Mark? Don’t forget, I’m here, call me anytime.’” 

He continued, “This program is fantastic. It makes you accountable for your success, which I needed. I was amazed by how great every single nurse, doctor, technician, support person and manager was. I was super impressed by their knowledge, and how concerned they were about getting me healthy as quickly as possible. They actually cared! My confidence grew as my strength improved.” 

Along with the nursing visits, physical and occupational therapy and other medical care, Mark notes that the team even helped him secure the durable medical equipment (DME) he needed, like a shower chair and compression stockings, and made recommendations along the way to help with any concerns that came up.

“They were just there all the time,” Mark shares. “It was a comforting feeling, and I wondered, why don’t more patients apply to this program? We have got to get the word out! 

“By the way, I am now back at the gym, running around town and loving life once again.”