Mike Christen
The Daily Herald, Columbia, Tenn.
COLUMBIA, Tenn. — As COVID-19 continues to spread through the community, Maury Regional Emergency Medical Services has introduced a new program designed to help the region’s patients better manage their health conditions at home.
Maury Regional’s newly launched Courtesy Care Call program provides an in-home visit, following hospital discharge at no cost to patients, who qualify based on their diagnosis.
EMS Director Brian Hupp said the program currently provides support to patients who are managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure.
“By ensuring that patients have the support and resources they need to manage their health, this program can provide a more seamless transition from the hospital to home and help prevent hospital readmissions,” Hupp said in a press release.
Patients who qualify for the program are informed by a member of the care team prior to discharge.
Following discharge, a staff member from Maury Regional EMS will contact the patient to schedule a home visit. During the visit, a paramedic or nurse practitioner will check the patient’s vital signs, provide education about the patient’s health condition and confirm any follow-up appointments that might have been scheduled.
Staff members can also assist with coordinating referrals to other services — such as home health, wound care and dietary consultations — and help obtain certain types of home medical equipment, such as blood pressure monitors, scales and glucometers, which would be provided through grant resources.
Maury Regional Health is a nonprofit regional health system serving southern Middle Tennessee through a network hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, outpatient facilities and a physician practice group.
Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia serves as the system’s flagship hospital for the system. Founded in 1953, the facility has grown to include more than 250 beds and a growing medical staff of more than 200 physicians.
The Courtesy Care Call program was established with grant funding received by Maury Regional Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of the government’s telehealth network grant program.
“The new Courtesy Care Call service is another way that Maury Regional Health puts our patients first: working to ensure their health and safety after they leave the hospital,” said Maury Regional Health CEO Alan Watson.
“I am pleased that our EMS team has taken the lead to offer this initiative for our recently discharged patients.”
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