Baptist Memorial Hospital is tapping into technology to give critical care patients extra care and more peace of mind. Baptist added a new telehealth service to all 12 of its hospitals’ Intensive Care Units in the tri-state area.
When a patient needs immediate attention, corporate eICU nurses based in Memphis are able to remotely turn on a camera in a patient’s room and zoom in to check vitals, IVs, and they can communicate with the patient, their family, and bedside nurses through a monitor.
Baptist officials say the purpose of telehealth is to provide an extra set of eyes on critical care patients, so they’re never left unattended.
“The more eyes on you the better,” said George Harrison, a Baptist DeSoto ICU patient.
Harrison, of Coldwater, Mississippi, was admitted to Baptist DeSoto ICU a few days ago after having a heart attack. Harrison said he’s getting top notch care between his ICU bedside nurses and eICU nurses in Memphis who check on him remotely through the new telehealth service.
“Two times the nurses were in here when it… they worked together and then the one time she was just checking on me ‘cause there was an IV alarm,” said Harrison.
Telehealth allows eICU nurses with an average of 18 years critical care experience to remotely monitor patients when ICU bedside nurses are with other patients.
“They’re still gonna have the same amount of nurses at the bedside. We’re extra. So this is more nurses for the patients,” said Stacy Hammett, Baptist eICU Telehealth Director.
“They can immediately turn a camera on remotely, look into the room, look around the room, zoom into the patient, the IV pumps, the ventilators, whatever and try to see what’s happening in real time,” said Rob Smith, Baptist DeSoto ICU Nurse Manager.
Patients and their families still have privacy; eICU nurses alert them before turning on the camera and popping up on the tv monitor.
“It turns back around so you feel like you have your privacy and everything,” said Harrison.
Telehealth went live at Baptist hospital in Oxford Thursday.
Baptist plans to add eICU doctors and pharmacists who will work exclusively with the telehealth service sometime this year.
