The ongoing discussion about home-based services and their evolution in health care addresses a topic that greatly affects the continuum of care at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) — reaching beyond its facility walls and into our communities. Total Cost of Care (TCOC) initiatives, hospital Global Budget Revenue (GBR) and Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) are making home-based services more vital than ever, as they not only impact the well-being of the patient but also the financial viability of JHM. To further that conversation, Johns Hopkins Home Care Group (JHHCG) recently assembled more than 50 key leaders from JHM, JHHCG and the JHHCG Patient and Family Advisory Council to discuss home-based services’ growing role in today’s health care landscape.

JHHCG, a nonprofit jointly owned by The Johns Hopkins University and The Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation, mobilizes more than 1,000 people across JHM and its member organizations to provide services in areas including care transition, pharmacy, home health, home medical equipment, respiratory care and infusion services. JHHCG provides services to more than 170,000 patients yearly, traveling more than 2 million miles to meet their needs.

“The retreat was such a positive and engaging experience for everyone in attendance,” says Mary Myers, president and CEO of Johns Hopkins Home Care Group. “We received such great feedback from our patients and leaders to help direct how home-based services will evolve within Johns Hopkins Medicine, and we’re excited to put it into action.”

“Johns Hopkins Home Care does a fantastic job of providing critical support to our patients,” says Landon King, executive vice dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “The retreat highlighted the expanding role that home care can and should play throughout the entire care continuum.”

Retreat attendees universally felt that JHHCG is, and should continue to be, a national leader in home-based services by demonstrating JHHCG’s value. For example, preliminary data from a pediatric asthma management project show an 83 percent decrease in use of the emergency department and hospital in a pre and post 90-day comparison, and a 97 percent patient and caregiver satisfaction rate.  Attendees also felt it will be important to continue to demonstrate this value in an environment that is mandating scalable, financially sustainable, patient- and family-centered care.

“This is only the beginning,” says Myers. “There is plenty of hard work remaining, but the support from Johns Hopkins Medicine leadership and our patients and families will ensure we stay on the right path. We want everyone to see that there’s no place like home . . . care!”