Nation’s First Virtual Care Center to Open in 2015
CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — The first virtual care center in the U.S. is underway. The four-story, 120,000-square-foot facility, operated by Mercy health care system, will accommodate nearly 300 physicians, nurses, specialists, researchers and support staff when it opens in 2015.
The care center provides 24/7 telehealth services across the Mercy health care system via audio, video and data connections.
“There’s a decreasing number of physicians in both rural and urban areas, while at the same time there’s a growing senior population that will require more care,” said Dr. Tom Hale, executive medical director of Mercy’s telehealth services in a statement. “Telemedicine will have a significant impact by letting virtual physicians and nurses be the first point of triage and care for patients in the hospital, emergency room or even at home. Mercy’s virtual care frees up physicians while also attending to patients faster than before, and our specialists bring a level of expertise that would be impossible to share without telemedicine.”
With an investment of approximately $50 million in development, the new facility will serve as the command center for all of Mercy’s telemedicine programs. These include:
• SafeWatch eICU – Using in-room, two-way audio, video and computer connections, Mercy doctors and nurses provide around-the-clock monitoring of a hospital’s ICU patients. These critical-care specialists use high-tech tools to identify abnormalities, uncover potential problems and assist with care when a patient’s attending physician is not in the ICU.
• Telestroke – Many community emergency rooms (ER) across the country don’t have a neurologist on hand. With Mercy’s telestroke program, patients who come to the ER with symptoms of a stroke can be seen immediately by not only an emergency room doctor, but by telestroke neurologists who are on call and available day or night via telemedicine to help diagnose the patient and order lifesaving stroke medication if necessary.
• Pediatric Telecardiology – In recent years, due to the lack of technology and distance of patients to a Mercy facility, it sometimes required a week or more to get results of an echocardiogram (images of the heart). A virtual pediatric cardiology team minimizes turnaround time for patients, producing results in 24 hours or less.
• Telesepsis – Mercy’s electronic health record automatically searches for more than 800 warning signs to identify patients at risk for sepsis and alerts doctors, so they can move aggressively to prevent it.
• Teleradiology – A remote radiology medical team provides nonstop support to radiology groups to minimize turnaround times for patients and maximize productivity.
• Telepathology – Available anytime, an online pathology medical team can quickly provide general and specific diagnostic services.
• Nurse-on-call – Experienced registered nurses provide 24/7 health advice with a nationwide telephone triage service.
• Home Monitoring – Mercy provides continuous monitoring for more than 1,000 patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure, reducing hospitalization and readmissions, as well as helping them live independently for longer.
“With a decade of telemedicine experience behind us, Mercy is now a recognized leader in this vital health care field,” said Lynn Britton, Mercy president and CEO in a statementBritton. “We’ve pioneered a telehealth plan that no longer limits advanced care because of age, illness or geography. We can deliver a higher level of care to more people, and the virtual care center is at the heart of it — providing care for today while also developing the health care of tomorrow.”