The Yale New Haven Health system has launched a new program so patients can get infusion services at home instead of having to travel to a hospital or clinic.
Infusion therapy involves giving a patient medication or fluids intravenously. It can be used to provide nutrition, hydration and various medications, such as antibiotics and immune therapies, by bypassing the digestive system.
Lorraine Lee, senior vice president, clinical operations for the health system, said patients can expect “safe, high-quality care” at home.
“This investment will serve all our patients well, as drug therapies can be given safely and with the same standards of care as when administered in the hospital setting,” Lee said.
The health system’s Home Infusion Center base is a 8,475-square-foot space at its Regional Operations Center, at 600 Derby Ave. in West Haven.
Yale pharmacists will mix and dispense the infusions, while nurses will travel to patients’ homes to administer them and provide patient education services.
The new program will eliminate patients’ travel costs and save time they ordinarily would have spent traveling to appointments and waiting for care. The health system will be able to free up beds that would have been used by infusion patients for other patients, according to an announcement.
Gene Decaminada, pharmacy services manager, said, “By expanding at-home care we are taking even more steps to ensure treatment remains accessible during a pandemic surge, transportation challenges or other care access issues our community might face.”
The health system includes five hospitals – Bridgeport, Greenwich, Lawrence + Memorial, Westerly and Yale New Haven hospitals, in addition to multiple specialty networks and hundreds of community-based physicians.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
