LAKELAND, Fla. — Lakeland Regional Health patients can now receive hospital-level care in the comfort of their own homes.

LRH has launched its new Hospital at Home program, inspired by remote inpatient care models developed during the pandemic.

Wednesday started early for Hospital at Home medical staff — they had several patients to see, but one of their first was Janet Pruett, who lives in Plant City.

Pruett said she originally went to Lakeland Regional Hospital on April 9 with severe abdominal pain. After several days of treatment for an infection, she was introduced to the hospital’s new program.

She was then able to continue her care at home.

“Sometimes things pop up when you come home from the hospital, and I wouldn’t have gotten as good care if I hadn’t been in this program,” Pruett said. “It’s better healing at home. Once they get past the critical stage, send people home.”

The program's medical director, Dr. Francisco Chebly, said the at-home program is only for patients who need an acute level of care. Patients must be 18 years old or older and live within 30 minutes of Lakeland Regional’s main and freestanding emergency rooms. Eligibility also depends on a patient’s living conditions.

“We don’t expect everybody to have somebody to help them, but we prefer that,” Chebly said. “We have to make sure the environment is safe for our staff. No guns, no dangerous pets, no drug use, and certain social determinants we look for.”

If a patient meets the qualifications, they’ll receive the same level of care they would in the hospital, including daily in-person or telehealth visits from nurses. Chebly said this not only provides more comfort for patients, but also frees up hospital beds.

“This is a way of me, I would say, creating another medical floor in the setting of the home of the patient,” he said.

As for Pruett, she said she’s grateful to be one of the first to take part in the program.

The program is currently covered by Medicare. Lakeland Regional officials say they are working with Medicaid and other insurance providers for future coverage.

To learn more about the program, visit the Lakeland Regional Health at Home website.