By: Jamie Barrutia, Head of Marketing, myLaurel
Anyone who has spent hours waiting in a Texas emergency room, or needed a hospital bed that never opened up, likely knows the problem: The state’s hospitals are busy, and getting busier. But a shift already underway is changing what getting care looks like for patients across the state. That shift starts with the idea that hospital-level care doesn’t have to happen inside a hospital’s four walls.
What this means for patients
Health systems and health plans across the country, and increasingly in Texas, are building programs that let eligible patients continue their recovery at home. myLaurel delivers acute and transitional care in the patient’s home and partners with health systems and health plans to make this possible. Patients who might otherwise stay in the hospital for days can now recover safely at home, under the care of a full clinical team both in person and virtually.
In these programs, patients can often be treated at home without a hospital stay at all, leave the hospital sooner when they’re medically ready, and get the support they need afterward to keep from going back. For Texans who are cared for at home, that means sleeping in their own bed, eating their own food, and following their own schedule, all while receiving high-quality care in the comfort of home.
What it looks like
Being discharged home with myLaurel feels a lot like simply going home, because that’s exactly what patients are doing. What changes is where their care is delivered.
Care doesn’t only begin at discharge. When someone at home has a sudden change in their health, myLaurel can send a clinician to evaluate and treat them right there, often avoiding a trip to the ER or a hospital stay altogether. And in the emergency department, a myLaurel nurse works alongside hospital staff to identify patients who can safely go home that same day and continue their care there instead of being admitted.
Once a patient is home, myLaurel clinicians bring the medications, equipment, and diagnostic tools needed to continue care, from point-of-care blood tests and EKGs to IV medications and oxygen, backed by a virtual team of physicians and nurses available around the clock.
The myLaurel team also educates patients and caregivers on what to expect and how to manage recovery at home, and coordinates the broader transition back to ongoing care by arranging primary care and specialist follow-up, home health referrals, transportation, and delivery of medical equipment along the way. The result: care that follows the patient home, instead of the other way around.
How it works for hospitals and health plans
myLaurel supports Greater Houston-area patients in three ways. In the emergency department and observation units, myLaurel helps patients who can be safely cared for at home go home the same day instead of being admitted. For patients who are medically ready to leave the hospital sooner, dedicated length-of-stay (LOS) coordination enables earlier, safer discharges, freeing up bed days. And for patients at risk of returning after a hospital stay, close at-home follow-up helps prevent readmissions. For hospitals, that means more beds available for the patients who need them most. For health plans, myLaurel can also treat members at home when their health changes, before a hospital visit is ever needed, meaning fewer avoidable hospital stays and a better experience for their members.
“Many of the patients we care for are sicker than the average general medicine patient, as reflected by their higher case mix index (CMI), yet many of them can be safely cared for at home, which is where they want to be,” said Jamie Babcock, ANP-C, myLaurel’s Chief Clinical Officer. “That’s true whether we’re helping someone avoid a hospital visit, leave the hospital sooner, or get the extra support they need after a stay so they don’t end up back in the hospital. Every one of those patients frees a hospital bed for someone who needs it.”
The program has been particularly successful for frail, elderly, and medically complex patients by providing advanced medical care at home through a multidisciplinary team.
“What makes this model so impactful is that we are not simply moving care from the hospital into the home,” said Babcock. “We are delivering a highly coordinated, clinically integrated model designed around the needs of medically complex patients. Through timely clinical intervention, close follow-up, and strong collaboration with our health system and health plan partners, we help patients recover safely at home.”
What patients are saying
Patient feedback suggests many prefer recovering at home in programs like this one. Partnerships with myLaurel have an average patient satisfaction score (NPS) in the high 90s, indicating that patients are highly likely to recommend the program to others. It’s a testament to the power of recovering at home under the care of qualified, compassionate medical professionals.
Patients aren’t just tolerating care at home; they’re actively seeking it as an alternative to the hospital, and increasingly asking whether these programs are available to them.
“Patients should have more options to receive high-quality medical care in the setting that’s right for them,” said Jon Branche, myLaurel’s Chief Growth Officer. “Our physician-led model extends the reach of hospitals by bringing advanced diagnostics, treatment, and ongoing medical care directly into the home. Working alongside health systems, we’re helping more complex patients recover at home, creating valuable hospital capacity, and reducing avoidable healthcare spending for Texans.”
Why it matters now
Texas hospitals aren’t going to get less busy. That’s especially true during cold and flu season, when emergency rooms fill fastest, and safely moving stable patients home can relieve pressure across the whole system. The state is also aging: 1 in 5 Texans is already 60 or older, and it’s expected to grow to 1 in 4 by 2060. As the population ages and needs more complex care, hospitals are at an inflection point and must find ways to care for people outside the hospital, through more community-based capacity.
But that doesn’t have to mean patients get less care, or less comfortable care. Partnerships like these with myLaurel are proof that for a growing number of Texans, the best place to heal is starting to look a lot like home.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Program availability, eligibility criteria, and service areas vary by health system, health plan, and location, and are subject to change. Statements about services, programs, and patient satisfaction reflect information provided by the company. Readers should consult their physician or health plan to determine whether home-based care options are available to them.
