Lee Health, one of Florida’s largest health systems, is expanding its virtual nursing program in partnership with telehealth company Caregility.
The expansion includes the deployment of Caregility APS200 Duo dual-camera telehealth devices, building on the existing fleet of telehealth wall systems and carts to more than double the health system’s inpatient virtual care footprint. With this expansion, Lee Health’s virtual acute care infrastructure will cover more than half of the health system’s beds across its four acute care hospitals, equipping nearly 1,000 patient rooms with bedside telehealth technology.
“The growth of our telehealth options accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the need to ensure patients received important care safely and we were able to ensure continued support for our medical teams,” said Rick Schooler, CIO of the nonprofit organization Lee Health, in a statement. “Through our expansion since then, we have evolved our virtual care capabilities to include an award-winning virtual inpatient observation program and now virtual nursing to improve patient outcomes using enhanced technology available to support our clinical staff.”
“Our virtual nursing program introduces innovative possibilities into patient care workflows by connecting care across the complex patient journey,” said Jennifer Higgins, DNP, RN, chief nursing officer at Lee Health, in a statement. “From admissions and discharges to ongoing patient follow-up, patients benefit from an additional team member dedicated to their care. “We anticipate this will also offer our nurses time for patients who need more hands-on care.”
