ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Mercy announced on Monday it will be caring for some COVID-19 patients virtually to address the increasing shortage of hospital beds across the region.
"Mercy COVID Care @ Home" will offer remote, in-home care and monitoring for those with mild symptoms who may need low-flow rates of oxygen.
Through the around-the-clock care, the Mercy's Virtual care team will measure oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry and adjust oxygen flow as necessary, along with other evaluations and interventions, Mercy said.
If the status of a patient changes or symptoms worsen, the Mercy Virtual team will evaluate them and direct them to the most appropriate level of care.
"An emergency medicine physician will help determine the type of care the patient needs – from an in-home visit, evaluation in one of the outpatient clinic offerings or the hospital setting," Mercy said a Monday news release.
Monday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said the St. Louis area could reach ICU capacity by the end of the week and the Missouri National Guard may be called in to help.
St. Louis has been breaking hospitalization records every day for weeks, and St. Louis County’s positivity rate for the past week is at 17.6%. Area hospitals said they are currently using 77% of the total staffed beds and 89% of their intensive care beds.
“We have learned that not all patients who were admitted at the onset of COVID-19 need to be hospitalized,” said Dr. Carter Fenton, medical director of Mercy Virtual vAcute, in the release. “By caring for select patients at home, with ongoing monitoring and management, we can reserve the hospital beds for those with more serious disease symptoms.”
To develop the program, Mercy said it worked with Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital system, which set up a similar program during the first surge in the spring.
"Northwell Health was able to provide care with equal or better outcomes in an at-home setting," the release said.
Mercy Virtual has cared for chronically ill patients since 2015 while keeping them comfortable at home instead of at the hospital. Mercy Virtual President Dr. Gavin Helton said that the program was able to take that experience and translate it to caring for COVID-19 patients.
“We hope by caring for certain COVID-19 patients in their homes, it will make them more comfortable and still connected to care, while lightening the load on hospital caregivers and in-patient resources," Helton said.
