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Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine plan to launch Dartmouth Health at Home in January 2027, backed by a $20 million gift from alumnus Richard “Dick” Levy. The pilot is expected to serve 10 to 20 patients, with plans to expand over several years to more than 1,000 patients and families annually. The program’s long-term finances, payer arrangements and expansion schedule have not been detailed.
Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth are launching Dartmouth Health at Home, a program for in-home primary and palliative care backed by a $20 million gift from Dartmouth alumnus Richard “Dick” Levy. The pilot is scheduled to begin in January 2027 with 10 to 20 patients, with the organizations aiming to expand the service over several years to more than 1,000 patients and their families annually.
The program is intended to bring coordinated medical services to people who have difficulty traveling to appointments, including older, frail adults. Dartmouth Health plans to develop the service locally first, using feedback from patients and caregivers to adjust how care is delivered before expanding across New Hampshire and Vermont. Its stated longer-term goal is to serve patients who receive care from Dartmouth Health.
At full scale, Dartmouth Health at Home is expected to employ about 30 clinicians and staff. According to Dr. Nathan Goldstein, chair of Dartmouth Health’s department of medicine and co-CEO of the new program, teams will include physicians, advanced practice providers, social workers and home health aides. The teams are expected to meet at least weekly to review patients’ care. The program also plans to offer home safety assessments and 24/7 phone support for patients and families.
The initiative also includes a Family Caregiver Institute at Dartmouth Health, which is expected to provide caregivers with services, education, support and access to home care aides. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice will study how home-based medical services work and examine their costs, revenue and financial margins. The source report says the gift will fund the program’s start, but is not expected to sustain it indefinitely.
Bringing Coordinated Care Into Patients’ Homes
For patients who face mobility, distance or caregiving barriers, receiving services at home could reduce the burden of reaching a clinic. Goldstein told Home Health Care News that family members of older, frail patients may need to take time off work to accompany them to appointments. Home visits are intended to address that access problem by bringing a care team to the patient rather than requiring each patient to travel to a facility.
Home-based visits could also give clinicians information that may be difficult to assess in an office, such as whether medications are being taken, whether food is available and whether the home contains fall hazards. Goldstein said timely visits could help clinicians identify and address health problems before they become acute. These are expected benefits, not reported outcomes: the pilot has not yet started, and no results on patient health, hospital use or cost savings are available.
The program’s reach could matter beyond individual patients if it can establish a financially sustainable way to deliver coordinated care in rural areas. Dartmouth Health says it hopes the model could eventually be adapted elsewhere in the country. Whether it can be replicated will depend on the program’s results, staffing needs, payment arrangements and operating costs.
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A Local Pilot Before Regional Growth
The program is being developed jointly by Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. The gift from Levy supports its launch, while the Dartmouth Institute is tasked with examining the practical and financial questions involved in delivering care at home. According to Goldstein, the institution’s analysis will include program costs, expected revenue and financial margins, with the aim of making services attractive to private and government payers.
Dartmouth Health’s stated rollout begins with a small pilot of 10 to 20 patients in January 2027. The organizations then plan to grow the program over several years to serve more than 1,000 patients and families annually. Goldstein told HealthLeaders that the initial work will be local so the teams can respond to patient and caregiver feedback before considering wider coverage across New Hampshire and Vermont.
The planned team approach is central to the model described by Goldstein: rather than relying on a single clinician at an isolated visit, the program intends to combine medical, social work and home aide services. The source report does not provide a detailed service list beyond in-home primary and palliative care, caregiver support and the described safety and phone-support measures.
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Funding and Outcomes Still Unproven
The program has not yet begun, so its effects on access, patient outcomes, emergency visits, hospitalizations or costs are not yet known. Dartmouth Health’s statements about earlier treatment and lower costs describe expected benefits, not findings from the pilot.
The source report does not specify which patients will qualify, how they will be selected, what exact services each patient will receive, or how many visits will be available. It also does not provide a payer mix, reimbursement agreements, an operating budget or a timeline for reaching the projected annual caseload. The $20 million gift is described as launch funding rather than permanent financial support; the program’s long-term sustainability remains to be tested.
It is also unclear what criteria Dartmouth Health will use to decide whether to expand beyond the initial area, or how the planned 30-person workforce will be recruited and distributed across rural communities. The organizations have described a national-model ambition, but have not announced plans for specific partner health systems or locations outside their region.
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Pilot Launch and Early Evaluation
The next stated milestone is the January 2027 pilot, which is expected to start with 10 to 20 patients. Dartmouth Health says it will use feedback from patients and caregivers to refine the service locally. The Dartmouth Institute is also expected to examine how the home-based model operates financially and what costs and revenues it generates.
Over the following several years, the organizations plan to expand the program toward more than 1,000 patients and families annually, with a longer-term aim of serving Dartmouth Health patients across New Hampshire and Vermont. No firm dates for those stages have been announced. The pilot’s implementation, evaluation findings, payer support and ability to recruit an interdisciplinary workforce will help determine whether the proposed expansion proceeds.
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Key Questions
What is Dartmouth Health at Home?
It is a planned Dartmouth Health and Geisel School of Medicine program offering in-home primary and palliative care, alongside caregiver support and other home-based services described by the organizations.
When will the program begin, and how many patients will it serve at first?
The pilot is scheduled to start in January 2027 with 10 to 20 patients. The organizations have not announced the pilot’s duration.
Who is providing the $20 million gift?
The gift is from Dartmouth alumnus Richard “Dick” Levy. The source report says it will help launch the program but will not fund it indefinitely.
How large could the program become?
Dartmouth Health plans to grow the program over several years to serve more than 1,000 patients and their families annually. At full scale, it is expected to employ about 30 clinicians and staff; no expansion dates have been specified.
Will the program reduce hospital visits or health care costs?
Dartmouth Health expects earlier identification of health problems and improved medication management could help avoid some emergency visits and hospitalizations. Those are projected benefits; the pilot has not started, and no outcome or cost data have been reported.
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