| Telehealth
expanded to include stroke expertise
St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals are two of four community hospitals in North Idaho that now provide a higher level of care for patients experiencing stroke as part of the telemedicine program offered by Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; the other two are Bonner General Health in Sandpoint and Gritman Medical Center in Moscow. These four hospitals join 16 other rural hospitals in communities surrounding Spokane, Wash., which have access to stroke expertise and advanced services to ensure the best possible outcomes for their patients. The program, coordinated through Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, links specialists at Sacred Heart’s nationally recognized stroke center with primary and emergency care physicians at participating hospitals, allowing patients and their physicians to access specialized care 24 hours a day. “We are happy to be able to serve our communities with technological advances that can speed diagnosing and treatment of our patients,” commented Richard Frank, RN/Emergency Department Coordinator for St. Mary’s Hospital. “Living in smaller rural communities have limited the ability of expediting high risk patients to the specialist for treatment. With Tele-Health we can bring the specialist directly to our patients and have eyes on interventions and give these patients the best possible outcomes.” “With a growing shortage of specialty providers, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for patients in rural areas to get specialized care for time sensitive emergencies like stroke,” says Dr. Ben Atkinson, medical director of inpatient neurology at Sacred Heart. “However, by using technology to bring specialists into the community hospital, patients and their physicians have access to a wider range of specialties, technologies, and services that are otherwise unavailable,” he adds. The result is that patients receive a rapid diagnosis and treatment plan, and often are able to stay in their home town hospital – close to family and friends – and skip the expense and inconvenience of travel. In those instances where a higher level of care is needed for more seriously ill patients, transfer to Sacred Heart is seamless and specialists are prepared with critical information in advance of the patient’s arrival. The program is a partnership between community hospitals and Providence, allowing local care teams to collaborate with specialists at Sacred Heart, and helping alleviate local provider shortage. “This is especially important for emergencies like stroke, where time can make the difference between a full recovery, or a disability or death,” says Dr. Atkinson. “Telemedicine allows hospitals to share resources, and provide patients the right care at the right time, and in the most cost effective location,” he says. 
RNs at St. Mary’s Hospital receive stroke training through the telehealth program; Dan Meyers, Tracy Williams, Peggy Goeckner, Diane Roberts and Michelle Kehler the ’patient’ on the stretcher. Photo provided by Cheri Holthaus. |
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