LA County DHS / LAC+USC Medical Center: Safer @ Home Oxygen Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

COVID greatly stressed the safety net health system for Los Angeles County. At its peak, nearly half of hospitalized patients, and nearly all ICU patients at LA County safety net hospitals had COVID. These hospitals and their emergency rooms were threatened with being overrun by COVID patients. In anticipation of this crisis, LAC+USC Medical Center led development of the Safer at Home Oxygen Program, through which patients with Covid pneumonia receive oxygen support in the comfort and safety of their own homes, rather than in the hospital. The program became an Expected Practice for the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services (LA County DHS), which earned national recognition for safety, effectiveness, and patient-centeredness. The program has now cared for more 3,000 patients at home. Less than 1 in 10 of these patients returned to the hospital for inpatient care; 0 patients died at home or in transit back to emergency room. Without this program, the LA County DHS likely would have had to triage patients to life or death during the COVID surges. Instead, the program enabled LA County DHS to maintain delivery of acute care services throughout the pandemic, while providing more patient-centered experiences to COVID patients.