When Paul Levine, 86, began feeling sick, with chills, fever, and weakness, he feared his cancer might have returned, so he called his oncologist. After learning Mr. Levine had lost his sense of smell, a symptom of COVID-19, the doctor immediately sent him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with the disease.
In the hospital, Mr. Levine felt miserable. He was put on oxygen and given infusions of fluids. He had trouble sleeping and didn’t feel like eating. He missed his wife, Sondra, who called several times a day, and he missed her cooking.
After about a week at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, he was able to return home to his East Village apartment to continue his recovery, thanks to a unique Mount Sinai program that offers hospital care in home settings.
Since 2014, Mount Sinai has offered some patients arriving at the hospital the option of getting the care they need at home under its Hospitalization at Home program. The program provides twice daily visits from nurses, a special digital tablet to communicate with the hospital, and the ability to receive all needed tests and exams, including IV infusions, ultrasounds, and supplemental oxygen.
Shortly after patients with COVID-19 began arriving at hospitals, Mount Sinai developed a new program, called Completing Hospitalization at Home, that allowed appropriate COVID-19 patients like Mr. Levine to be discharged to home to complete their recovery, while receiving all of the care they would normally receive in the hospital.
“I believe that the hospital at home program gave me the best of both worlds. I had hospital care with the home cooking that was most important in recovering the weight I had lost, along with my wife’s care and company,” says Mr. Levine, who lost about 18 pounds.
Almost three months after his initial diagnosis, Mr. Levine, a diabetic who recovered from treatment for a blood disorder called chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) more than a decade ago, was doing much better. He still felt some shortness of breath, even with minimal exertion. But he’s thankful to be at home and to finally get his appetite back, especially for his wife’s homemade mushroom and barley soup.
Linda V. DeCherrie, MD, the program’s clinical director and a Professor in the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said the program helps patients recover because they are more comfortable and find it easier to gradually return to normal activities, such as walking around and getting a cup of coffee. Studies show these patients have better outcomes.
“You are in your own bed, eating your own food, and enjoying the company of your loved ones,” said Dr. DeCherrie. “Being at home can help your recovery in many ways.”