Ashtabula County Medical Center | ACMC Pulse | Winter 2017

ACMC IS TEAMING WITH CLEVELAND CLINIC to bring eHospital to Ashtabula County. eHospital is a remote telemedicine program that brings highly skilled caregivers on-site at ACMC together with expert critical care specialists from Cleveland Clinic. “We have a phenomenal team of caregivers in the ACMC ICU,” said ACMC Healthcare System President and CEO Michael Habowski. “The addition of eHospital takes the care we provide to an even higher level—and will allow more critically ill patients to stay at ACMC where they are close to their loved ones.” Nothing can replace the reassurance of a physician’s presence at the patient’s bedside. eHospital is designed to supplement, not replace, the care provided by the on-site ACMC healthcare team. eHospital combines the most up-to-date technology with high quality direct patient care to achieve the best outcomes for the patient. How does eHospital work? Off-site eHospital staff will have access to the same information that the on-site ACMC caregivers have, including a patient’s vital signs, lab results, x-rays and other diagnostic tests, medications and other information from the bedside monitors. They will also have access to the patients’ electronic health record to review information in the patient chart as well as place orders for additional tests or medications if needed. Highly sensitive monitoring technology gives the off-site eHospital team the ability to quickly notice changes in a patient’s condition. If a change is detected, the eHospital specialists work with the on-site ICU team to help determine the response and treatment plan. eHospital monitors include a camera so the off-site care team can also see and communicate with the patient, family members and the on-site care team. While the monitoring of vital signs is continuous, the camera is only turned on when it’s necessary for the off-site care team to actually see the patient. The camera is the off- site care team’s way of “making rounds” on ICU patients. Benefits of eHospital include: ➜ ➜ Reduced clinical complications. ➜ ➜ Extended ICU physician expertise. ➜ ➜ Reduced length of stay. ➜ ➜ Improved outcomes. ➜ ➜ Reduced healthcare costs. ➜ ➜ Ability to remain at ACMC rather than being transferred to an- other facility. More experts on your team “Having access to an eHospital team significantly improves healthcare for patients in the Intensive Care Unit at ACMC,” Habowski said. “In the past, many patients may have been transferred to Cleveland for a higher level of monitoring and care. That is stressful for both the patient and the patient’s family. Now most of those patients won’t have to be transferred. We will be able to provide a high level of care to very, very sick patients right here.” As part of the eHospital upgrade, renovations within ACMC’s ICU are also taking place that will allow for the installation of the improved technology, better lighting in patient and nursing areas, and a better floor plan for improved workflow. ACMC Pulse • acmchealth.org 5