Unique postpartum program at Massachusetts hospital helps moms recover at home
WORCESTER - A new program at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester is offering women a unique chance to receive the postpartum care they would normally receive at the hospital right in their own homes. They say it's the first program of its kind in the country.
Dr. Dejah Judelson is soaking up every moment with her four-month-old daughter Darcy, the newest addition to the family of five. Judelson has delivered all three of her children via cesarean section, but this time, the experience was a little different.
That's because she received traditional postpartum care in a non-traditional setting - her home.
Postpartum at home care
Patients receive two daily visits from nurses who take vital signs, check blood pressure and examine C-section incisions to make sure they're healing correctly. Patients are also set up with an armband that monitors vitals and a tablet that connects them to staff 24 hours, 7 days a week.
"It's really exactly like a hospital in terms of the support, the safety mechanisms, but it's for patients who are doing well and would rather be in their home," Dr. Ben Hamar told WBZ-TV.
Dr. Hamar specializes in Maternal and Fetal Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology at UMass Memorial. He says home hospital programs are a growing trend post-pandemic.
"We realized in the pandemic patients were looking to get out of the hospital because that's where COVID was. Patients were leaving with really no changes to outcomes. We realized this would be a great opportunity for our post C-section patients since they typically spend up to four days."
Home postpartum care benefits
Judelson, a vascular surgeon at UMass Memorial, said this program is "so much better" than recovering in the hospital. She already had a 4-1/2-year-old and 2-year-old at home. She was eager to get out of the hospital and reunite with her family, so she volunteered for the program.
"I got to sleep through the night. One of the great things about being in the hospital is that you're checked on frequently. One of the worst things about being in the hospital is that you're checked on frequently. So, to be able to be woken up when my baby needed me, and not when, sort of, vitals were due and, sort of, to be able to eat my own food and just really be able to recover in a comfortable environment was just really everything I needed to recover," Judelson told WBZ..
Is home postpartum care safe?
The program is completely voluntary, and patients must medically qualify.
Dr. Hamar said an algorithm is used to see if the mother is a good fit. If approved, C-section patients are transferred home after two days in the hospital. Not all health insurance companies cover at home care, though. It's another factor that goes into determining if someone is right for the program.
"Patients might not necessarily be ready to be separated from medical care, but they would really rather be at home. Your bed is comfier, your family is around, the food is better. And it allows patients to have that transition when they're leaving the hospital. They're trying to think of questions, concerns. This allows them to continue asking questions when they are home. It's been fantastic," Dr. Hamar said.
"We're staffed for full volume, but if we have empty rooms, that means more staff per patient and allows us to better care for patients in the brick and mortar."
For Dejah, a surgeon who's comfortable with the hospital setting, recovering at home was a game-changer.
"I've had C-sections with all my kids, and this was by far and away the easiest. To be able to give moms that, sort of, freedom of being at home but with continued medical care is just going to really revolutionize how we can potentially - hopefully - do postpartum care," she said.