As the federal government shutdown takes effect, UMass Memorial Health is being forced to pause its innovative hospital-at-home program, which has helped more than 4,000 patients recover safely at home while easing pressure on hospital capacity.
The program’s waiver expired Tuesday night, and without federal support, the service must stop immediately. That means 20 patients who were recently enrolled have now either been discharged or readmitted to the hospital.
“This breaks my heart,” said Dr. Constantinos Michaelidis, medical director of the program. “We’ve had to bring patients back into the hospital, where they’ll be boarding in emergency department hallways instead of receiving high-quality care at home.”
The shutdown is already straining hospital resources, with UMass Memorial facing new challenges in managing patient flow and emergency room boarding.
Patients previously in the program say recovering at home helped improve their outcomes and comfort.
The last government shutdown in 2018 lasted 35 days, raising concerns about how long this disruption could last.
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