HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Jennie Stuart Medical Center has launched technology that provides its doctors and their patients’ real-time access to Vanderbilt University Medical Center specialists.
TeleICU and VGo robotic technology allows specialists with advanced training in critical care medicine at VUMC to see patients in the intensive care unit of the Hopkinsville, Kentucky hospital up close, monitor their vital signs and review their medical records.
The technology provides simultaneous communication between health care teams at the two hospitals which enhances the decision-making process about treatment protocols and patient transfers. It allows JSMC and VUMC to collaborate around-the-clock on specific patient cases.
“We think our patients and their families will benefit tremendously,” said Eric Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jennie Stuart Medical Center. “Not only do they have the convenience and benefit of staying in their local community at Jennie Stuart Medical Care and being cared for by clinical staff who are their family, friends and neighbors, they also have the benefit of that virtual connection with the great specialists that are part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.”
JSMC is the first hospital in the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network to implement teleICU technology.
“Vanderbilt physicians are so excited to partner with the physicians and nurses at Jennie Stuart in the care of their intensive care unit patients,” said David Charles, M.D., medical director of Vanderbilt Telehealth. “This partnership represents a significant advancement in our effort to further enhance the level of specialty care throughout the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network.”
The implementation of the teleICU technology at JSMC has no effect on the staffing of physicians in its intensive care unit, but it does give them additional support for complex medical cases.
“Our patients and their families can benefit from the expertise that intensivists and specialists at Vanderbilt provide with the convenience and security of being home without all the travel and traffic congestion that come with driving into the Nashville market for medical care,” Lee said. “We really see this as a win-win for everyone involved.”