OSF HealthCare's Pandemic Health Worker Program seems to be fulfilling its goal of keeping most COVID-19 patients needing care out of the strained hospital system.
More than 4,000 Illinoisans in more than 700 Illinois ZIP codes have participated in the telehealth program that connects clients with trained health care workers who check in virtually on a regular basis. Many COVID-19 cases are readily dispatched with home-based isolation and basic self-care, with hospital visits needed only in severe cases.
Patients are referred to the Pandemic Health Worker Program through the COVID-19 Nurse Hotline, which has fielded more than 89,000 calls since spring to help patients assess their risk and symptoms.
Of those callers, only 393 sought care at an emergency room--and only 157 were admitted to the hospital.
Throughout the pandemic, controlling the influx of patients to resource-strapped hospitals has been one of the primary struggles of the health care system.
Workers are stationed in Peoria, Bloomington, Alton, Evergreen Park, Rockford, Galesburg, Ottawa, Pontiac, and Urbana. OSF HealthCare provides pandemic health workers services for about a third of the state.
Dr. Michael Cruz, chief operating officer of OSF HealthCare, said of the 22 major hospitals in Region 2, 20 are currently treating COVID patients. Intensive care unit occupancy and ventilator usage is ticking up.
"(It's) an innovative way to take care of patients in some of the most untraditional hospital settings, called your home, in which case we bring the expertise of clinicians who are highly qualified in taking care of patients in a home-based setting," Cruz said. "It minimizes the risk of community spread, and allows those patients to be taken care of at home in a safe, and convenient and accessible fashion."
Gov. JB Pritzker is hailing OSF HealthCare's Pandemic Health Worker Program as a COVID-19 success story.
"Throughout this partnership, we deliver safe, free COVID-19 care to thousands of patients, offering virtual consultation for the vast majority of people who recover from COVID-19 in their homes, therefore reducing the risk of community spread," the governor said.
The program is still operating throughout the state. To find out more about the COVID-19 Nurse Hotline or Pandemic Health Worker Program, click here.
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