Bringing postpartum health care to mothers’ homes

BENEFITS. BABY DARCY IS ALL SMILES, SNUGGLED IN MOM’S LAP IN THEIR WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS HOME. HOME IS WHERE MOM EXPERIENCED A HEALING HAND. WE WERE ABLE TO GET HOSPITAL LEVEL CARE, BUT IN THE COMFORT OF MY HOME WAS JUST ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND IT WAS A REALLY GOOD WAY TO TRANSITION FROM HOSPITAL BASED CARE TO SORT OF BEING AT HOME BY YOURSELF. WE DAEGU NILSSON A MOM OF THREE. DARCY, HER THIRD C-SECTION USED UMASS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AT HOME. THE FIRST IN THE NATION TO ACCEPT PATIENTS RECOVERING FROM A C-SECTION. THE PROGRAM GIVES PATIENTS THE CHOICE TO RECOVER AT HOME, NOT DISCHARGED HOSPITAL LEVEL CARE. THE NURSES COME TO YOUR BEDSIDE. IT’S SOME ISSUES WITH BLOOD PRESSURE BEFORE DELIVERY. SO IT WAS REALLY NICE TO HAVE A NURSE COME IN TWICE A DAY TO CHECK MY BLOOD PRESSURE. AND THEN I GOT TO HAVE THE TELE VISITS WITH THE HOSPITALIST. SO TO HAVE SOMEONE MONITOR ME WAS JUST AMAZING. THE POSTPARTUM CARE OPTION LAUNCHED IN JANUARY OF 2024. IT’S THE NEWEST BRANCH OF UMASS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AT HOME PROGRAM. MATERNITY CENTER DIRECTOR DOCTOR BENJAMIN HAMMER. WHAT WE WERE NOTICING DURING THE ACTIVE PHASE OF THE PANDEMIC WAS THAT PATIENTS WERE FLYING OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. I MEAN, THEY WERE COMING IN HAVING THEIR BABIES AND REALLY LOOKING TO GO HOME. SOME OF IT WAS THE RESTRICTIONS ON WHO COULD COME INTO THE HOSPITAL AND THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES AND FEELINGS ABOUT BEING IN THE HOSPITAL. BUT WE WERE NOTICING THAT PATIENTS WERE REALLY THEY WERE WANTING TO GO HOME AND WE DIDN’T NOTICE ANY CHANGE IN ANY OF THE OUTCOMES. IN ADDITION TO DAILY NURSING VISITS, POSTPARTUM PATIENTS GO HOME WITH THIS DEVICE. THEY CAN MONITOR THEIR HEART RATE, OXYGEN, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND MEDICATIONS. IS THAT SIMILAR TO THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY WOULD GET IN THE HOSPITAL? IT’S IT’S ALMOST IDENTICAL. AND WHAT WE’VE NOTICED AND WHAT WE HEAR FROM PATIENTS IS THAT BEING IN THEIR HOME, BEING ABLE TO BE IN THEIR USUAL SPACE, BEING ABLE TO BE AROUND FAMILY AND FRIENDS, BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE THOSE FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN THEIR HOME RATHER THAN IN THE HOSPITAL IS IS A WIN WIN FOR THEM. DOCTOR JUDELSON, WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A VASCULAR SURGEON AT UMASS. YOU LET HIM HAVE SOME. SAYS THE EXTRA TIME WITH HER THREE KIDDOS WAS PRECIOUS, AND IT WAS NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE WERE PEOPLE MONITORING ME EVERY STEP ALONG THE WAY AND MAKING SURE THAT I’M SAFE. AND I JUST THINK THE TRANSITION BETWEEN HOSPITAL 24 OVER SEVEN CARE AND HOME BY YOURSELF TO HAVE THIS KIND OF WINDOW IS JUST AMAZING, AND I WISH EVERYONE HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE HONEST. HEY, DARCY, LOOK. HI. AS A MOM, IT WAS GREAT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE MY KIDS AT HOME AND TAKE CARE OF THIS LITTLE ONE. WELL, NOW, A BIG ONE. AND AND SLEEP IN MY OWN BED. THAT’S CUTE. CUTE. THE C-SECTION RECOVERY PROGRAM IS JUST ONE ASPECT OF CARE PROVIDED BY HOSPITAL AT HOME, RIGHT IN THE HOSPITAL DOES NOT HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF. THE HOSPITAL STAFF ACTUALLY ROTATES BETWEEN BEDSIDE CARE AT THE HOSPITAL AND THEN DOING THE IN-HOME CARE THAT WE’VE JUST TALKED ABOUT. AND OF COURSE, IF THERE’S ANY ISSUE OR PROBLEM THE PATIENT CAN GO RIGHT BACK TO THE HOSPITAL IF THEY WANT TO. BUT IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING OUT FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRYING IT. AND THAT IS CHRONICLE FOR TONIGHT. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US, EVERYONE. I’M ANTHONY, EVERETT AND I’M SHAYNA SEYMOUR HAVE A GREAT EVENING. WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HE

New program brings postpartum health care to mothers’ homes

UMass Memorial’s ‘Hospital at Home’ program provides care to those recovering from childbirth in the comfort of their own homes

In her Westborough home, baby Darcy is all smiles, snuggled into her mother’s lap. Home is where both mom and baby Darcy have found healing, thanks to a new Hospital-at-Home program offered by UMass Memorial Medical Center.“For me, being able to get hospital-level care but in the comfort of my own home was absolutely amazing,” says Dr. Dejah Judelson, a mom of three. “It was the perfect way to transition from hospital-based care to being at home.”Following her third C-section, Judelson took advantage of the program, which provides hospital-level support for postpartum mothers in their own homes, allowing nurses to come directly to her bedside.For Judelson, who had experienced complications with blood pressure before delivery, having nursing visits at home was a relief. “It was nice to have a nurse come in twice a day to check my blood pressure,” she shares. “Plus, I had tele-visits with the hospitalist. Knowing someone was monitoring me every step of the way was incredible.”Launched in January 2024, the postpartum branch of UMass Memorial’s Hospital-at-Home program aims to bring new mothers home sooner while ensuring they still receive high-quality care. The Maternity Center director, Dr. Benjamin Hamar, explains that the program was inspired by shifts in patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.“We noticed that patients wanted to go home as soon as possible,” Hamar says. “There was no change in outcomes — no increase in readmissions or complications. Patients were doing great at home.”In between daily nurse visits, postpartum patients use an iPad equipped to monitor vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, and medications. According to Hamar, this technology offers nearly identical monitoring to what they’d receive in the hospital, with an added benefit: the comfort of home.“Being in their usual space, around family and friends, is a huge win for patients,” Hamar says. “They can receive loved ones in their home, which is meaningful during the postpartum period.”UMass Memorial’s Hospital-at-Home program is redefining postpartum care, bridging the gap between hospital and home with continuous support. For Darcy and her family, it’s a program that has made all the difference.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. —

“For me, being able to get hospital-level care but in the comfort of my own home was absolutely amazing,” says Dr. Dejah Judelson, a mom of three. “It was the perfect way to transition from hospital-based care to being at home.”

Following her third C-section, Judelson took advantage of the program, which provides hospital-level support for postpartum mothers in their own homes, allowing nurses to come directly to her bedside.

For Judelson, who had experienced complications with blood pressure before delivery, having nursing visits at home was a relief. “It was nice to have a nurse come in twice a day to check my blood pressure,” she shares. “Plus, I had tele-visits with the hospitalist. Knowing someone was monitoring me every step of the way was incredible.”

Launched in January 2024, the postpartum branch of UMass Memorial’s Hospital-at-Home program aims to bring new mothers home sooner while ensuring they still receive high-quality care. The Maternity Center director, Dr. Benjamin Hamar, explains that the program was inspired by shifts in patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We noticed that patients wanted to go home as soon as possible,” Hamar says. “There was no change in outcomes — no increase in readmissions or complications. Patients were doing great at home.”

In between daily nurse visits, postpartum patients use an iPad equipped to monitor vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, and medications. According to Hamar, this technology offers nearly identical monitoring to what they’d receive in the hospital, with an added benefit: the comfort of home.

“Being in their usual space, around family and friends, is a huge win for patients,” Hamar says. “They can receive loved ones in their home, which is meaningful during the postpartum period.”

UMass Memorial’s Hospital-at-Home program is redefining postpartum care, bridging the gap between hospital and home with continuous support. For Darcy and her family, it’s a program that has made all the difference.

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