‘Better Than the Hospital’: Pandemic Boosts Care for Serious Illnesses at Home

Late last year, Janet Yetenekian was one of the thousands of people in Southern California whose case of covid-19 was serious enough to send her to the hospital. But Yetenekian’s recovery was not typical: She received hospital-level care in her own home in Glendale.

“It was even better than the hospital,” Yetenekian said, laughing. “They were constantly reaching out — it’s time for you to do your vitals, or it’s time for you to take your medications.”

Yetenekian contracted the virus that causes covid in December, after friends invited her family to an afternoon barbecue. It seemed like a safe antidote to the isolation caused by the pandemic. But the day after the gathering, the host came down with a fever. A test confirmed it was covid. Within two weeks, Yetenekian’s husband and two teenage children developed mild symptoms. She came down with a more serious case, however, and her blood oxygen plummeted to dangerously low levels.

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