St. Luke’s offers home care for acute medical needs

BOISE, Idaho — Hospital-like treatment in the comforts of patient’s homes is now available for some through St. Luke’s Health System.

The Hospital at Home program is only offered through St. Luke’s and is designed to deliver acute medical care expected in a traditional hospital room in a patient’s home.

One of those patients, Ron Moser, went to the hospital with breathing issues.

He was diagnosed with pneumonia and after establishing his treatment plan, his doctor admitted him to St. Luke’s virtual hospital at home.

“You know, it was a lot better than staying in the hospital for four days; plus, I was able to use my facilities here, my bathrooms, and get up and down without having nurses, and it was just a lot better here in my own home,” said Moser.

Doctor Adam Balinger is the medical director for the Hospital at Home program.

He said patients are sent home with equipment similar to the devices in a hospital room.

“The idea is, for a certain subset of patients, you can provide the same care that you provide see on a medical floor in a hospital, in a patient’s home.” Balinger said.

Patients are given and shown how to use equipment such as heart, blood pressure and oxygen monitors, as well as a phone, a tablet and a call button for 24-hour access to nurses and doctors at the hospital.

Each patient is also visited in person each day as many times as needed by St Luke’s paramedics.

“So when we’re visiting these patients, we’re really doing a head-to-toe assessment. We are the boots, the hands, the eyes, the ears on these patient,” said Makenzie Tiegs, paramedic with St. Luke’s Health System.

Tiegs is one of the hospital-employed paramedics who visits patients, takes vitals, collects blood samples and discusses medications and dietary requirements.

“We do have the capacity to go more if necessary, if the doctors need any more testing, or if we need to check on them, or if the nurse is seeing something that is a little bit off. We have every capability to go more, ” said Tiegs.

Doctor Balinger said this hospital format gives him and the paramedic staff a look into the patient’s home living environment, which they wouldn’t in a traditional setting.

“I get to see the environment in which they’re living. And sometimes there’s things that are that that are in their environment or different, you know, their nutrition, that we can’t see when the patient when we’re caring for the patient in the brick and mortar hospital.” Balinger said.

Moser has since recovered from pneumonia and would recommend Hospital at Home if staff offer it.

“I felt like I was being taken care of, you know, I wasn’t worrying if they wasn’t gonna be here to do something that I needed to have done.”

The program launched in November of 2024.

To learn more about Hospital at Home check out St. Luke’s website.