I am writing this letter to let you know how grateful my family and I are to Beebe Healthcare – specifically, we are grateful for the Hospital at Home program.

In September 2021, my 86-year-old father was admitted to Beebe and diagnosed with COVID-19. The Beebe staff was amazingly wonderful. The care Dad received exceeded our expectations. Within hours of his diagnosis, he began responding to the treatment suggested by the providers.

Ultimately, of course, Dad wanted to be home. Isolation from his family was not his preference. He needed and wanted the comfort of being in his own home, so we were elated when his care team called to inform us that Dad would be eligible for the Hospital at Home program. We had no idea that this program existed, or that Beebe Healthcare was the first healthcare system in Delaware to offer a Hospital at Home program for patients who meet specific criteria.

Once he was brought home, the Hospital at Home staff was immediately involved. Dad was visited three times a day. Nurses provided intravenous treatments for him right in our home and checked his vitals, etc. Right away, his condition began to improve, as did his desire and motivation to get better. Despite his age, the nurses who came were devoted to providing the best care they could to help him achieve his goal of making it to his granddaughter’s wedding.

Thanks to Celia Auchenbauch and nurses Phyliss Saunders, Cheryl Palmer, Celia D’Orazio and Colette Adore – care from all of them was incredible. Their commitment and dedication to their profession and to my dad was inspiring. Nurse Practitioner Kelly Henshaw came four times a week to see Dad, and she was also exceptional. Actually, without fail, every staff member who visited took the time to make sure we were educated and updated on my dad’s condition, and that we knew what the next steps were for his care. When we asked for clarification, some of these nurses even shared personal stories that helped us understand and relate to whatever we needed to watch out for or just be aware of.

In addition to clinical visits, we were given a special phone line to contact the hospital. Once, when we lost power, I called about dad’s oxygen. In what seemed like just minutes, the oxygen company was at our door to make sure Dad was fine. The whole process was a well-oiled machine, and as grateful as we are for the clinical and operational support, I cannot leave out the dietary staff. This team called every morning with the daily menu and promptly delivered it – exactly right – each and every day. Amazing.

I truly believe that if it weren’t for this program, the extraordinary nurses, NP Krista Henshaw and entire dietary staff, my dad would not have made the recovery that he has. These were all amazing people who were knowledgeable, kind and extremely professional. They made it possible for Dad to recover at home with incredible clinical support. His pulmonologist is amazed. He says Dad is doing better than ever! Being with his family, sitting in his own living room was healing for my dad and peaceful for us as a family.

I hope this program continues, because my dad is living proof that it makes all the difference. And yes, he did attend his granddaughter’s wedding!