Home Is Where the Care Is
They call him “the Podfather.” Nearly a quarter-century ago, when Jon Rubinstein was a senior executive at Apple, he was responsible for the development of the iPod. Now he’s singing a different tune.
A leadership gift from Jon and his wife, Karen Richardson, is funding a game-changing initiative to deliver acute-level hospital care and post-acute care for patients in the comfort of their own homes.
Cleveland Clinic Hospital Care at Home (HCAH) is an option for patients with common diagnoses that require hospitalization. These include congestive heart failure, COPD, pneumonia, diverticulitis and many other acute illnesses. While they’re recuperating at home, they’re monitored from the state-of-the-art Rubinstein Family Hospital Care at Home Suite, where caregivers can be reached with the push of a button. A typical treatment plan may entail a combination of integrated medical technology and hands-on care provided by clinical specialists.
“Not unlike the iPod enabled you to listen to music wherever you were, this latest set of technologies enables hospital-level care in your home environment, which Karen and I think is really cool,” Jon says.
“Delivering better care enabled with technology at a better price point is something that definitely makes sense to both of us,” says Karen, a Silicon Valley superstar in her own right who was CEO of the CRM software company E.piphany. “As technology people, we’re always looking for disruptive change, either in terms of capabilities or economics or both.”
Launched in 2023, HCAH is currently available through Cleveland Clinic locations in Florida. To date, nearly 2,000 patients have been admitted to their homes for hospital care. Plans call for HCAH to expand to Ohio in 2025.
“We’re deeply grateful to Jon and Karen not only for their generous support, but for sharing their technological expertise and experience leading disruptive innovation,” says Richard Rothman, MD, Chief Medical Operations Officer for Cleveland Clinic in Florida and a founder of HCAH. According to Dr. Rothman, the program is making strides with patients as well as caregivers, in addition to creating a more sustainable model for healthcare delivery.
Based on preliminary metrics, HCAH patient outcomes outperform those for patients in brick-and-mortar hospitals across several key areas, including readmission rates, utilization of post-acute facilities and overall patient experience.
The program has been a hit with caregivers, too. Applications for nursing positions at the command center have exceeded openings. In an era of high attrition and low retention among healthcare workers overall, HCAH also has attracted physicians, pharmacists, care managers and others interested in the next generation of care.
All of this is music to the Podfather’s ears.
“There’s a real opportunity to improve people’s experiences in life with technology,” Jon says. “That’s why we’re bullish about this concept and why we’re excited to support it.”
