LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Saint Joseph Health in Lexington has launched the city's first hospital-based community paramedicine program, designed to reduce re-admissions by providing in-home care and support to high-risk patients after discharge.
The innovative program sends paramedics and social workers directly into patients' homes to help them navigate recovery and prevent return trips to the hospital. It specifically targets patients discharged with sepsis, pneumonia, COPD, and heart failure.
"We go into their homes, we sit down with them, and we work through their barriers," Austin Roush, market director of paramedine, said.
The program addresses a common challenge where patients leave the hospital confused about their condition and treatment plan.
"I find that a lot of people go home really confused about why they came to the hospital in the first place," Sydney Hardin, a community paramedicine social worker, said. "Our providers and our nurses and our healthcare workers explain that to them, it's all so overwhelming. That a lot of it gets lost in translation."
By visiting patients in their own environment, healthcare workers can identify specific risks and implement practical solutions tailored to each person's living situation.
"When you're in someone's environment, you get a real feel for their needs," Roush said. "We can go in there and look and say, you know what, let us help you out with this, or you know what, something maybe as simple as installing grab bars because they're at a risk for fall, something as simple as talking about diet."
The program has shown promising results since its launch. Saint Joseph's reports that 96% of participants avoided re-hospitalization within seven days, and 84% avoided readmission within 30 days.
"We want them home, we want them healthy, we want that change and that adherency to their lifestyle to best suit their time so they're not spending it with us, they're spending it with their loved ones and their family members," Roush said.
The hospital developed the community paramedicine program in partnership with the Lexington Fire Department to address specific healthcare needs in the local community. The service is provided free of charge to patients.
"That's what this program is, it's taking the time to really wrap around them, hug them and let them know that they're okay, that they're safe and if they're not okay, explaining to them how and what to do," Hardin said.
