Saint Francis at Home expands services

TULSA, Okla. — Saint Francis Health System and DispatchHealth today announced an expansion of their Saint Francis at Home services, which will offer eligible Tulsa-area patients a continuum of care in the comfort of their home.

Building on a successful three-year relationship centered on Emergency Alternative and Transitional Care in patients’ homes, Saint Francis and DispatchHealth have formed a joint venture to offer additional home-based services, including Skilled Alternative Care, giving patients the opportunity to recover at home after hospitalization rather than at a skilled nursing facility, or rehabilitation hospital. Early next year, the program will also add Hospital Alternative Care, which offers acute care services for qualifying patients in their home.

“Delivering complex care in the home has been shown to improve outcomes for appropriate patients and reduce hospital readmissions,” said Saint Francis President and CEO Dr. Cliff Robertson. “At the same time, this opens beds in our physical hospitals for other patients without big capital costs. In short, we’ll be able to treat more people at the Saint Francis standard while containing costs for everyone.”

The expanded program offers the right care at the right time in the right place.

Jennifer Webster, CEO of DispatchHealth, said Saint Francis at Home is the future of high-quality healthcare.

“This is an example of one of the innovative ways health systems across the country can expand their services to reach their patients,” said Jennifer Webster, CEO of DispatchHealth. “Saint Francis at Home is bringing care outside hospital and skilled nursing facility walls to patients in their homes to better meet their needs in a way that effectively supports the delivery of care. We believe partnerships like this represent a defining model for the future of healthcare.”

Key points about Saint Francis at Home:

• Patients embrace home-based healthcare. They receive high-level care in a familiar environment, close to family members and pets.
• Complex care delivered in the home offers advantages that support recovery. Patients receiving care at home are often more active, maintain better cognitive function, report higher satisfaction and experience fewer complications and readmissions.
• Investing in these Tulsa-based programs will generate greater inpatient capacity, allowing the health system to continue to serve more patients across Eastern Oklahoma.

The joint venture will launch with Skilled Alternative Care offered starting in November of this year.  

About DispatchHealth:

DispatchHealth is a leading provider of complex care in the home for people experiencing serious health concerns. The company is in-network with most major insurance companies and works closely with at-risk providers and health systems to deliver compassionate care at home that reduces unnecessary ER visits, enables inpatient hospital-level care at home, and lowers hospital readmission rates. Since its inception in 2013, DispatchHealth has treated more than 1.2 million people in over 20 states across the U.S.—resulting in 58% emergency room avoidance, an 8.5% 30-day readmission rate, 98% patient satisfaction, and an estimated $1.5 billion in medical cost savings. For more information, visit DispatchHealth.com.

About Saint Francis Health System:

Founded in 1960 by Natalie O. and William K. Warren, Sr., Saint Francis is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The health system is anchored by the 1,112-bed Saint Francis Hospital, the largest hospital in Oklahoma and the 11th largest in the nation. Other integral parts of the health system include Saint Francis Hospital South; Saint Francis Hospital Muskogee; Saint Francis Hospital Vinita; Saint Francis Glenpool; Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital; and Warren Clinic with more than 100 locations throughout eastern Oklahoma.