Home Care
At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Home Care, our staff and health care providers treat you like family. Whether you’re transitioning from a hospital or nursing facility to home, or your primary health care provider recommends services to improve your life at home, we can make sure you have the equipment and follow-up visits your care plan requires.
We can help you manage your medications, heal wounds and start an exercise program. We can suggest changes in your home to improve safety and help you avoid falls. If required, our speech therapy team can help you improve your swallowing, breathing and problem solving. Our home health aides can also help with personal care needs such as bathing and connecting you with local housekeeping and meal services.
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Home Care is a partnership with Alternate Solutions Health Network, based in Kettering, Ohio, and ranked in the top 1% of home health agencies in the United States. A health care provider referral is required for these services.
In-Home Urgent Care
Our team of in-home urgent care nurse practitioners and physician assistants from our partner, DispatchHealth, are able to test and treat everything an urgent care center can, on the same day you call, in the comfort of your own home. This includes testing and treating COVID-19 symptoms, flu, strep, mono and a wide array of non-life-threatening medical conditions in patients 3 months and older.
We’re open seven days a week, including holidays, from 8 a.m to 10 p.m., and can typically have a care team at your house within one or two hours of your call. Response times may vary depending on the number of visits we have scheduled that day. When you call, we can give you an approximate arrival time.
We’ll call in any prescriptions you need, update your primary health care provider and handle billing with your insurance company. We accept many health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicare Advantage. A health care provider referral is not required.
Ohio State’s in-home urgent care services are provided in partnership with DispatchHealth and are available in the greater Columbus, Delaware and Newark areas. To see if your ZIP code is included in the service area, or to schedule a visit today, call 614-681-3076 or visit https://request.dispatchhealth.com/.
Post-Discharge Care
Post-discharge care, provided by our DispatchHealth partner, is available for patients who are identified at their time of hospital discharge as needing follow-up care and other services within three days of discharge to avoid the risk of returning to the hospital.
If you qualify for post-discharge care, we’ll arrange for an advanced practice provider to visit within 24-72 hours of you leaving the hospital. During this visit, we’ll evaluate your progress, help you manage any recovery issues and adjust your medications if necessary. We can help advise you on fall risks and safety in your home. We can also help you schedule follow-up appointments and refer you to other specialists if required.
A referral is required from a hospital health care provider or discharge coordinator to receive these services.
Home Medical Equipment
Ohio State Home Medical Equipment (OSHME) offers high-quality home medical equipment such as home oxygen, noninvasive ventilation, portable oxygen, nebulizers, CPAP and BiLevel machines, walkers, adjustable beds, support surfaces, patient lifts, wheelchairs and off-the-shelf orthotic supplies, usually delivered directly to your home.
If you’re receiving this equipment after a hospital stay, an on-site OSHME liaison at each Ohio State hospital can work with your discharge coordinator to make sure the right equipment and supplies are delivered to the right address at the right time to help you continue your recovery and keep you safe.
Ohio State Home Medical Equipment services are provided in partnership with DASCO, based in Westerville, Ohio, and rated one of the best home medical equipment providers in the country on TopRatedLocal.com, Google and Yelp. An order or prescription from a health care provider is required to receive these services.
Infusion Therapy
The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center offers high-quality, reasonably priced infusion therapies for acute and chronic conditions through carefully selected partners from our Quality Provider Network. Therapies are provided in the comfort of your home, by appointment or on-call 24/7.
We customize treatment plans to your specific needs, and medications are administered by skilled nurses specifically trained in infusion therapy. You’ll also receive personalized patient education materials and support.
We provide a full range of infusion therapies, including anti-infectives, nutrition support, hydration, pain management, steroids, immunoglobulin, chemotherapy and specialized therapies, as well as medications to treat heart failure, chronic inflammatory diseases, neurologic disorders, women’s health, bleeding disorders, autoimmune/immune deficiencies, enzyme deficiency, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis/Crohn’s disease and solid organ transplants.
Ohio State infusion services are provided through our Quality Provider Network partners, who meet or exceed a range of high-quality care standards set by Ohio State. You’ll require an order from a health care provider to receive these services.
Telehealth
You can reach most Ohio State experts using your smartphone, tablet, computer or landline telephone, through Ohio State Telehealth. Scheduled appointments are open to new and existing Ohio State patients, including those recently discharged from our hospitals. Most health insurance plans cover telehealth visits.
See primary health care providers and specialists for many illnesses and injuries, common health conditions, follow-up appointments and screenings.
During your telehealth visit, your health care provider can perform many of the same tasks for you as they would during an in-person visit, including prescribing medication.
It’s easiest to access telehealth services through your MyChart account. If you don’t have one, sign up for a free account today at the MyChart webpage. Visit the Ohio State Telehealth webpage for more information about telehealth visits and scheduling.
COVID-19 Care at Home
We and our home-based care partners offer a wide range of COVID-19 home care services. From in-person testing and home testing kits, to free transportation to vaccine sites, to symptom management if you test positive, we and our partner organizations are here for you.
Vaccination: We strongly encourage the COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots to protect yourself and those around you from the most serious effects of the virus. We can arrange free transportation for you to a vaccine center. Call us at 614-688-6612, leave a message and a team member will call you back to help you find and schedule a ride. Columbus Stand Up! also provides free transportation within Franklin County to and from vaccine appointments. Call or text 614-259-7391. For people age 65 and older, Franklin County Office on Aging provides free cab transportation within Franklin County to and from vaccine appointments. Call 614-525-6200 at least 24 hours before your appointment.
Testing and Symptom Management: Advanced practice nurses from our partner DispatchHealth can test you for COVID-19 in your home and have the results in approximately 20 minutes. If you test positive for the virus, at this time or in the future, DispatchHealth nurses can also help you manage your symptoms and advise on additional care, if warranted.
Early Hospital Discharge: If you’re hospitalized for issues related to COVID-19, we’ve created a program with DispatchHealth that may allow you to return home sooner. Patients who meet certain criteria, including the need for new or increased supplemental oxygen, can be referred to this program to receive an in-home visit from the DispatchHealth care team as well as daily check-in calls from a DispatchHealth nurse for 10 to 14 days after you’re discharged from the hospital. DispatchHealth will communicate with your care team, including your family health care provider, about your progress and will request any additional resources they feel you need to keep you comfortably home.
Find complete information on COVID-19 and related Ohio State Wexner Medical Center services on the medical center’s COVID-19 Patient and Community Information web page.
Hospital Care at Home
Hospital Care at Home is a new approach to hospital care sponsored by Medicare that allows services that were once available only to patients in a hospital to be delivered in a patient’s home, under certain circumstances. Patients who’ve chosen this option are happier with their care, have fewer complications and recover better than comparable patients who stayed in the hospital.
To be eligible for Hospital Care at Home, you must be referred by the provider overseeing your care in an Ohio State Emergency Department or an inpatient unit of one of Ohio State’s hospitals (except The James). You must also have Medicare or private health insurance that covers this type of service, and live in a specific geographic area. You will be contacted in the hospital if you qualify.
Hospital Care at Home patients are visited in-person at least twice a day by specially trained nurses, and once a day by an advanced practice nurse or physician assistant. A credentialed physician also oversees and discusses each patient’s case with his/her APP each day. Patients can reach the Hospital Care at Home call center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In-home patient care is provided by advanced practice providers and RNs employed by our partner DispatchHealth, which staffs other Ohio State Wexner Medical Center home-based care programs. Additional services, when needed, are provided by Ohio State Wexner Medical Center staff and other highly qualified providers selected and overseen by Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.