These were some takeaways from our most popular session at Symposium 2024! The live session highlighted Regina Foley, EVP and Chief Nurse Executive at Hackensack Meridian Health, and Dr. Nick Patel, CEO of Stealth Consulting, highlighting how clinical & IT teams can partner together.
Virtual care is rapidly changing the healthcare landscape, offering innovative solutions to age-old challenges. But successful implementation requires a strong partnership between IT and clinical leaders.
Two healthcare leaders who exemplify the gold standard of this partnership are Regina Foley, EVP and Chief Nurse Executive at Hackensack Meridian Health, and Dr. Nick Patel, CEO of Stealth Consulting.
Here are five of their recommended best practices for seamless collaboration:
1. Start with the Clinical Need, Not the Technology:
Define the problem: What are you trying to solve? Is it nurse burnout, patient satisfaction, or access to care?
Focus on solutions: How can technology improve workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance patient care?
Avoid the “shiny object” syndrome: Don’t get distracted by the latest gadgets. Choose technology that truly addresses your needs.
2. Foster a Culture of Collaboration and Trust:
Leave egos at the door: Encourage open communication and mutual respect between IT and clinical teams.
Build a shared vision: Ensure both teams understand the goals and are working towards the same outcomes.
Break down silos: Promote cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing.
3. Conduct Thorough Due Diligence:
Assess existing resources: What technology and infrastructure do you already have?
Evaluate potential solutions: Carefully consider the capabilities, costs, and integration requirements of new technologies.
Involve clinicians in the process: Ensure their input is valued and incorporated into decision-making.
4. Prioritize Training and Education:
Provide comprehensive training: Ensure both IT and clinical staff are comfortable using and supporting new technologies.
Offer ongoing support: Address questions, concerns, and challenges that arise during implementation.
Foster a culture of continuous learning: Encourage both teams to stay abreast of the latest advancements in virtual care.
5. Embrace AI Cautiously and Strategically:
Focus on data quality: Ensure your data is accurate, complete, and unbiased before implementing AI solutions.
Start with specific use cases: Prioritize areas where AI can have the greatest impact, such as clinical documentation and decision support.
Involve clinicians in AI development: Ensure their expertise is incorporated into the design and implementation of AI algorithms.
Bonus Tip: Don’t be afraid to learn from others! Network with colleagues, attend conferences, and share best practices to accelerate your virtual care journey.
By following these guidelines, IT and clinical leaders can forge a powerful partnership that drives innovation, improves patient outcomes, and transforms the future of healthcare.
Interested in more content like this? Save the date for AvaSure Symposium 2025! Registration isn’t open yet, but stay tuned & take a look at our 2024 recap video from attendees.
Annual awards program recognizes individuals and organizations for advancing patient and staff safety
BELMONT, Mich., Oct. 8, 2024 — AvaSure, a market leader in acute virtual care, today announced recipients of its virtual care awards program, the 2024 AvaPrize awards. Now in its 8th year, AvaPrize awards recognize excellence in virtual care within healthcare organizations in the U.S.
“Since AvaSure was founded 15 years ago, we have staunchly advocated for transformative care models that empower nursing teams, enhance patient safety, and create measurable outcomes,” said AvaSure CEO Adam McMullin. “It is with great joy that we recognize these extraordinary individuals and organizations for their unwavering dedication to using intelligent virtual care to enhance patient care, improve nursing experiences, and increase care delivery efficiencies.”
2024 AvaPrize winners
The Breakthrough Innovation Award celebrates organizations that have demonstrated visionary leadership by embracing cutting-edge solutions to shape the future of virtual care. This year, Hackensack Meridian Health was honored for their forward-thinking approach to leveraging technology to enhance patient care and improve outcomes. Their leadership’s passion for staff well-being and dedication to the entire patient community have driven the successful implementation of a virtual care platform that not only improves patient care but also boosts caregiver satisfaction
The Outstanding Operational Excellence Award honors teams that have optimized operations for greater efficiency and effectiveness through AvaSure. Bon Secours Mercy Health earned this award for strong leadership at all levels, strategic use of internal and external data, and innovative processes that improved patient care and operational outcomes. Their approach sets a new standard for excellence in healthcare.
The Collaborative Excellence Award celebrates those who have excelled in fostering collaboration across departments, improving interdisciplinary teamwork and patient outcomes. Advocate Health’s proactive fall prevention strategy serves as an inspiring model for healthcare organizations looking to elevate patient care through collaboration and innovation.
The Rookie of the Year Award recognizes a new AvaSure user that has quickly made an exceptional impact with their virtual care program, setting a high bar for future success. Tampa General Hospital earned this accolade for its impressive use of analytics and its commitment to fostering a culture of excellence. Tampa General has made remarkable strides, demonstrating innovation and rapid progress in virtual care.
The VA Excellence Award honors VA Hospitals that lead in virtual care through the AvaSure platform, recognizing innovation and excellence while setting a benchmark for the highest standards of care within the VA healthcare system.
Cincinnati VA Medical Center prevented more than 1,000 falls per month—totaling an impressive 12,300+ annually—significantly enhancing patient safety and minimizing fall-related risks for our Veterans.
Fayetteville VA’s virtual care program soared to 80% utilization in just six months, highlighting their strong leadership, organization, and commitment to success. Their journey serves as an inspiring model for other VA facilities, proving that with the right strategies and dedication, significant progress can be achieved in a short time.
The Centralized Care Champion Award honors organizations that excel in leveraging the AvaSure platform across multiple sites, recognizing their outstanding innovation and excellence in advancing both operational efficiency and patient safety. This year, UCHealth was celebrated for its remarkable utilization of virtual care technology through its Virtual Health Center (VHC). By seamlessly integrating technology into patient care, UCHealth has set a new standard, using virtual care as a powerful tool to overcome challenges like staffing shortages and rising healthcare costs.
The Virtual Safety Attendant Superstars Award honors those exceptional individuals who consistently go above and beyond in their roles as virtual safety attendants, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to patient safety and care. This year, AvaSure proudly recognized Jacqueline Watson (Cincinnati VA Medical Center), Sally Burnside (Ascension Wisconsin), Norma Perez (Ascension Texas), Abimael Rodriguez (Ascension Texas), Tameka Stanley (Ascension Texas), and the Memorial Hermann Katy Team as the 2024 honorees.
The AvaPrize awards were presented during AvaSure’s Annual Symposium, held October 2–4 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featuring over 45 customer and partner speakers. To learn more about the 2024 AvaPrize winners or to download a photo, click here.
About AvaSure AvaSure® is an intelligent virtual care platform that healthcare providers use to engage with patients, optimize staffing, and seamlessly blend remote and in-person care at scale. The platform deploys AI-powered virtual sitting and virtual nursing solutions, meets the highest enterprise IT standards, and drives measurable outcomes with support from care experts. AvaSure consistently delivers a 6x ROI and has been recognized by KLAS Research as the #1 solution for reducing the cost of care. With a team of 15% nurses, AvaSure is a trusted partner of 1,100+ hospitals with experience in over 5,000 deployments. To learn more, visitwww.avasure.com.
Media contact: Marcia G. Rhodes for AvaSure; mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com
In the wake of staffing shortages, the need to efficiently scale virtual care programs has never been greater. Implementing virtual care is one thing, but to transform the care delivery model hospitals must deeply understand the clinical workflows, change management, and leadership required to implement real change and achieve lasting results.
Join industry pioneers Lisbeth Votruba and Claire Zangerle as they unveil an inpatient virtual care maturity model, crafted with insights from top nursing leaders and industry advisors. This session will highlight the challenges hospitals face in redesigning care delivery, offer a visionary outlook for the future of virtual care, and emphasize the importance of a structured maturity model to achieve real and lasting change.
Learning points:
Learn how a maturity model helps hospitals overcome care redesign challenges and achieve sustainable growth
Gain practical insights from industry pioneers on scaling virtual care programs for lasting impact
Seventh annual in-person event will feature ten-plus customers discussing virtual sitting and virtual nursing
Customers attending include St. Luke’s Duluth, Michigan Medicine, Beacon Health, Baptist Medical Center South, Madonna Rehabilitation, Ascension Texas, UCHealth, and Corewell Health
BELMONT, Mich., Oct. 4, 2023 — AvaSure, the market leader in acute virtual sitting and virtual nursing solutions, announced today that the full agenda is now available for the 2023 AvaSure Symposium, an in-person event for healthcare and nurse leaders seeking an unparalleled opportunity to connect, learn, and engage around virtual care.
The in-person event, designed to elevate healthcare leadership journeys with innovative and educational programming on AI, virtual sitting and virtual nursing, will feature at least ten customer speakers. Organizations with executives speaking at the event include: St. Luke’s Duluth, Michigan Medicine, Beacon Health, Baptist Medical Center South, Madonna Rehabilitation, Ascension Texas, UCHealth, and Corewell Health.
This year’s AvaSure Symposium will be held October 25–26 at the GVSU Richard M. DeVos Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Attendees will gain insights from clinical experts and customer success stories, while rediscovering the power of face-to-face interactions through networking with esteemed healthcare and nurse leaders to exchange ideas and build relationships that extend beyond the confines of a screen.
The vibrant in-person event features numerous compelling educational sessions, including:
Saving Lives Virtually: How to Keep Suicide Risk Patients Safe: Join us for a critical discussion on safeguarding the well-being of low-to-medium-risk suicide patients and pediatric patients through virtual sitting. Beacon Health and Baptist South will share why this approach works, discuss the policies that support it, and the transformative impact it has had on their organization.
Celebrating Remarkable Results: A Customer’s Story of Reducing Falls: Nurse leaders from St. Luke’s Duluth will share their inspiring story behind the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of reducing patient falls and achieving recognition in patient safety.
A Single Virtual Care Platform Designed for Growth: How UCHealth Scaled Virtual Sitting to Virtual Nursing to Save Lives: Learn how UCHealth innovatively designed a virtual hospital, making an impact on 1.4 million lives through the combination of virtual sitting and virtual nursing programs.
Navigating Staffing Challenges: The Equum Medical-AvaSure Success Story: This session will explore how Madonna Rehabilitation faced staffing issues and partnered with Equum Medical to achieve remarkable results.
Fostering Excellence: Cross-Functional Teams in Virtual Care: Corewell Health’s Chief Information Officer will share firsthand insights into their collaborative journey, innovative strategies, and the pivotal role technology plays in shaping the future of healthcare.
Other reasons to attend include:
Dynamic learning, live: Immerse yourself in a live, dynamic learning environment. Renowned speakers, including customers and healthcare leaders, will share the latest insights and strategies, providing actionable takeaways for your leadership toolkit.
Hands-on workshops: Dive into interactive workshops led by AvaSure’s clinical staff experts and nursing leaders. Experience hands-on learning, acquire new skills, and gain practical insights to excel in your healthcare practice.
Array of insights, in-person: Break down hospital borders by engaging with healthcare leaders from across the country, all under one roof. Embrace diversity, broaden your perspective, and foster a global IT and nursing community.
“We are thrilled the AvaSure Symposium is returning to an in-person event in 2023 and can’t wait to reconnect with our wonderful nursing colleagues,” said Lisbeth Votruba, MSN, RN, Chief Clinical Officer, AvaSure. “Healthcare and nurse leaders who attend the Symposium will have the opportunity to experience the power of in-person interaction and immerse themselves in a world of knowledge and inspiration while learning more about virtual care options to enhance patient care outcomes.”
About AvaSure
AvaSure provides the leading virtual sitting and virtual nursing solutions to systems with nursing and staffing shortages that are challenged to significantly reduce labor costs without sacrificing patient health outcomes. Recognized by KLAS Research as the leader in reducing the cost of patient care, AvaSure is the pioneer in providing best-in-class, video-based AvaSure TeleSitter® and TeleNurse™ solutions. As a trusted partner of more than 1,100 hospitals, AvaSure combines virtual safety attendants, virtual nurses and other providers on a single platform to enhance clinical care without placing any additional burdens on existing staff. To learn more about AvaSure visit www.avasure.com.
Improved nurse satisfaction and retention cited by CNOs as top reason to implement virtual nursing solutions, AvaSure-Joslin Insight survey reveals
BELMONT, Mich., Sept. 14, 2023 — AvaSure, the market leader in acute virtual sitting and virtual nursing solutions, announced the results of a primary market research survey revealing that the majority of chief nursing officers (CNOs) view virtual nursing as integral to care delivery models in acute patient care.
The Virtual Nursing Insight Survey of 789 health professionals also found that:
CNOs believe that the three most important metrics for measuring the success of virtual nursing programs are improving nurse satisfaction and retention (86%), improving workload burden for current staff (82%), and improving patient experience (81%).
CNOs see numerous use cases in which virtual nursing can deliver a positive impact in acute patient care, with the most frequently cited responses as discharge (59%), admissions (53%), patient education (51%), expert clinical oversight (35%), and rounding (24%).
Most CNOs feel there is an opportunity to recruit nurses who are either unable or unwilling to work at the bedside to work as a virtual nurse.
“The survey results underscore the importance to health systems of using technology to augment front-line staff amid a climate of unsustainable costs and labor shortages,” said Lisbeth Votruba, MSN, RN, chief clinical officer, AvaSure. “Virtual nursing technology extends the reach of bedside nurses, giving them more time for direct, hands-on patient care and resulting in reduced costs for health systems.”
Nursing represents a significant staffing crisis for hospitals worldwide. A total of 13 million nurses will need to be replaced globally within the coming years, according to a report from the International Council of Nurses, a shortage that could result in a “global health emergency.” As a result, an increasing number of nurse leaders are interested in exploring virtual nursing technology, which uses mobile audio and video monitoring devices to connect bedside staff to a remote care support team.
The Virtual Nursing Insight Survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Joslin Insight on behalf of AvaSure between April 10 and 18, 2023. The survey received responses from 789 healthcare professionals primarily working in acute care settings, including nurse leaders, managers, educators and key decision makers.
AvaSure provides the leading hospital virtual care platform to systems with nursing and staffing shortages that are challenged to significantly reduce labor costs without sacrificing patient health outcomes. Recognized by KLAS Research as the leader in reducing the cost of patient care, AvaSure is the pioneer in providing best-in-class, video-based AvaSure TeleSitter® and TeleNurse™ solutions. As a trusted partner of more than 1,000 hospitals, AvaSure combines remote patient monitors, virtual nurses and other providers on a single platform to enhance clinical care without placing any additional burdens on existing staff. To learn more about AvaSure visit www.avasure.com.
About Joslin Insight
Joslin Insight operates as a healthcare market strategy consultancy. Leveraging unbiased qualitative and quantitative research, the company provides market intelligence and real-time data analytics for leading healthcare organizations. Their research has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Forbes, TIME, the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Bloomberg News, as well as by the United States Senate Committee on Finance, the United States Surgeon General’s Advisory, and the White House COVID-19 Task Force.
CIO’s and IT departments in health systems across the U.S. are charting the course towards a camera in every room, but how to get there isn’t as easy as it seems. Many think a camera is just a camera – and that off-the-shelf hardware will help them achieve their clinical goals. But AvaSure has learned from our 15+ years of experience in virtual care, that installing a camera is only one part of building a successful monitoring program.
Hear from the AvaSure Chief Technology Officer, Toby Eadelman, who helped build the AvaSure platform, and Clinical Implementation Manager, Wendy Pompa-Breen, RN, who helps customers build successful virtual care programs every day, on best practices for standing up a virtual care program that is results-oriented and outcome driven.
Learn how to lay the foundation today, for a successful camera-in-every-room program tomorrow. In this webinar you will:
Hear from industry leaders on what 1,000+ hospitals have tried, failed or succeed at along their virtual care journey
Learn best practices in developing the workflow management, policy & procedures and implementation guidelines necessary to gain clinical buy-in and support from front-line staff
Learn from our CTO why the AvaSure platform is different – making it an effective and efficient clinical tool, from its ability to function in any room to its ability to easily integrate with your EHR.
Some recent staffing survey results should be scary to health system leaders. A virtual nursing expert discusses the value of two emerging tele-nurse models, and how provider organizations can get started with them.
Virtual nursing has been getting an increasing amount of attention in healthcare, especially with telemedicine entering the mainstream during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toby Eadelman is chief technology officer at AvaSure, a virtual care technology and services company that works in virtual nursing. AvaSure has six virtual nursing implementations underway.
Eadelman attended HIMSS23 in April and said there was a lot of curiosity among attendees he talked with about virtual nursing. Hospital leaders told him they’re considering some form of virtual nursing but have not actually started a program because they don’t know where to begin.
Healthcare IT News spoke with Eadelman to discuss the state of virtual nursing and how healthcare provider organizations can benefit from these programs.
Q. You attended the HIMSS23 in April. What did you hear at the show about virtual nursing?
A. There was a lot of curiosity among health system and hospital leaders about virtual nursing. On more than one occasion, hospital leaders told me they were considering launching a virtual nursing program in some form but were unsure of where to begin.
The reasons behind this interest and curiosity are familiar to anyone who follows the healthcare industry – rapidly escalating labor costs and widespread staffing shortages.
For instance, according to a recent national survey of nurses, 100,000 nurses quit their jobs during the pandemic, and by 2027, nearly 900,000, or almost one-fifth of the 4.5 million registered nurses nationwide, plan to do the same, endangering the overall national healthcare system if no action is taken.
Both nurses themselves and hospital leaders understand the current approach to nursing is not sustainable, so they are looking to virtual nursing solutions to solve the problem.
Q. You say you’ve been seeing two models of virtual nursing emerging. The first model you call the “expert oversight tele-nurse.” Please describe how this works in-person and virtually.
A. In general, hospitals begin their journey into virtual nursing by employing one of the two primary models that have developed across the healthcare industry. One of those virtual nursing models is what we call the expert oversight tele-nurse model. In this approach, virtual nurses focus on overseeing higher-acuity patients for potential deterioration triggers, supporting novice nurses, and conducting virtual rounding.
An example of a hospital that has implemented this model is Colorado-based UCHealth, which reduced emergency “code blues” by 70% after implementing a virtual nursing program that improved detection of patients experiencing deterioration.
UCHealth has found that virtual nurses can observe changes in patients’ health status, just as they would if they were in rooms with patients, which has helped reduce phone calls and bedside interruptions for in-hospital nurses.
Separately, one hospital in the Southeastern U.S. has launched a virtual nursing program to decrease holding times in the emergency department by streamlining admissions from the ED to inpatient beds. Hospital leaders view this program as a means of supporting nurses on the frontlines without compromising patient safety or patient experience.
Q. The second model you call the “clinical resource tele-nurse.” Please describe how this works in-person and virtually.
A. The second model of virtual nursing, called the clinical resource tele-nurse model, is focused on using virtual clinicians for admission and discharge support, patient and family education, consults, and more. This model supports episodic intervention with two-way audio-video technology allowing personal interaction with the patient during important care events.
After having successfully implemented a virtual sitting program in 2020 in its medical surgical and intensive units, a hospital in the Southeast has launched a pilot virtual nursing program to decrease ED holding times by streamlining admission from the emergency department to inpatient beds.
The medical center sees this as a way to support nurses on the frontlines without compromising patient safety or patient experience.
Q. Where should healthcare provider organization health IT leaders interested in virtual nursing begin the process of starting a program?
A. The first step to starting a virtual nursing program is to identify the biggest challenges that are confronting the provider organization. Doing so will provide insights about unique pain points and clues about how to relieve them.
Gather a group of cross-functional stakeholders, including bedside staff, and listen to them describe the problems they encounter, which are likely to include challenges such as burnout and exhaustion, patient throughput bottlenecks, rising patient complexity, and retirement vacancies causing a lack of highly experienced staff.
Next, prioritize the challenges by greatest impact, build a compelling business case to health system executives about how virtual nursing will lead to financial and operational improvements, and select the right vendor partner.
To ensure success, do not attempt to DIY this. Partner with an experienced virtual care company that offers a system with very high uptime and very good audio and video quality. Ideally, a vendor with experience providing video and audio in the acute care space, for example, a tele-sitting company, and be sure they also have exceptional 24/7/365 customer care.
The ideal virtual care platform enables virtual team care by combining remote patient sitters, virtual nurses, and other providers in a single enterprise technology solution to enhance clinical care without placing any additional burdens on existing staff.
Once you’ve selected a tech partner, it’s time to select the first use case.
For a virtual nursing program’s first use case, it is advisable to start small to demonstrate early success. For example, consider launching in a single unit or department. After rolling out the first use case, spread the word about the virtual nursing program’s positive impact on staff and patients.
Are you looking at your virtual care strategy? The easiest place to start is refreshing the systems you already have. Learn from AvaSure experts how to incorporate the latest technologies into your virtual care program. You won’t want to miss this session discussing how you can protect patient safety, manage costs effectively, and why leveraging available resources, like AvaSure’s nurse experts, is more critical than ever.
In this webinar, you’ll learn:
Key considerations and tips when planning your virtual care strategy
How AvaSure’s devices and software can support your program goals
Trade in options to help you save while taking advantage of the latest technology
How refreshing your program drives nurse satisfaction and patient safety
Industry experts to share insights and perspectives to support AvaSure’s continued expansion in the virtual nursing market
BELMONT, Mich., May 17, 2023 — AvaSure, the inventor of the TeleSitter® solution and the market leader in acute virtual care and remote safety monitoring, announced today that it has established a Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) Advisory Board.
The CNE Advisory Board comprises an inaugural group of ten healthcare and nursing industry leaders who will assist AvaSure to continue bringing value to the acute care market by providing an informed view of industry trends and emerging customer needs.
“We’re thrilled to welcome such a distinguished group of nursing leaders who will share their diverse insights and perspectives to support AvaSure’s continued expansion in the virtual nursing market,” said Adam McMullin, CEO, AvaSure. “We look forward to collaborating with this talented group of nursing authorities to advance new models of virtual nursing care.”
Leveraging their vast experience and expertise in virtual care, the CNE Advisory Board will develop critical guidelines and recommendations to help the healthcare industry achieve clinical, financial, and operational advancements through virtual team-based care including nursing and sitting.
The ten members of the board bring decades of knowledge and experience from across a wide spectrum of the nursing industry:
Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) and chief nursing officer, SVP of workforce for the American Hospital Association (AHA)
D’Andre Carpenter, DNP, RN, senior vice president and enterprise chief nurse executive, UnityPoint Health
At a recent working meeting, the dialogue centered around how virtual sitting and virtual nursing represent key components of transforming care delivery.
“There are not enough nurses to meet our needs in the current model,” said Howell. “As nurse leaders, we must take the lead in redesigning care delivery or someone else will do it for us.”
“Our goal is to create a care delivery model in such a way that nurses wouldn’t want to practice in any other way,” said Carpenter.
Additionally, nurse leaders discussed how previous approaches to addressing staffing challenges are no longer viable given today’s macroeconomic climate – necessitating deeper investments in technology to close the gap.
“We are still suffering from the same problems we had ten years ago: nurses are stretched too thin, resulting in frustration and burnout,” said Rhine. “Virtual care finally offers us a path towards a sustainable labor solution.”
“The last few years have been the most challenging of my career, but also the most rewarding,” said Rudisill. “By pioneering new models of virtual care, we are creating a connected purpose to unite clinical and information technology teams behind the shared goal of exceptional patient care.”
Read the Press Release
About AvaSure
AvaSure provides the leading hospital virtual care platform to systems with nursing and staffing shortages that are challenged to significantly reduce labor costs without sacrificing patient health outcomes. Recently recognized by KLAS Research as the leader in reducing the cost of patient care, AvaSure is the pioneer in providing best-in-class, video-based AvaSure TeleSitter® and TeleNurse™ solutions. As a trusted partner of more than 1000 hospitals, AvaSure combines remote patient monitors, virtual nurses and other providers on a single platform to enhance clinical care without placing any additional burdens on existing staff. To learn more about AvaSure visit www.avasure.com.
Hospitals, health systems and healthcare companies have expanded their services to include telehealth solutions, increasing access to care and providing patients with more flexibility than ever. Telehealth has become increasingly important since the onset of the pandemic.
AvaSure (Belmont, Mich.). AvaSure provides a virtual care platform to health systems with nursing and staffing shortages so that they can reduce labor costs without sacrificing patient health outcomes. The company’s virtual monitoring solutions leverage technology, analytics and support to over 1,000 hospitals.
