Westerly (R.I.) Hospital connected with Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health System's InSight Tele-ICU center to implement telemedicine capabilities in its intensive care unit, the hospital announced Sept. 25.
Through the InSight Tele-ICU center, experienced critical care physicians and nurses in New Haven will provide remote support to the Westerly Hospital's ICU team. These remote clinicians will monitor patient vital signs and provide remote video consultations during evening hours.
If a remote clinician detects a change in a patient's vital signs, he or she notifies the appropriate onsite nurse or physician in the Westerly Hospital ICU.
"The integration of the teleICU service at Westerly Hospital allows patients who are more seriously ill to continue to receive the highest quality care close to home, rather than having to be transferred to a larger and more distant tertiary care center," said Oliver Mayorga, MD, CMO of Westerly Hospital.
Westerly Hospital marks the fifth YNHHS hospital supported by the InSight Tele-ICU, which monitors patients in 72 rooms across the health system.