Centralized Heart Monitoring

Trained telemetry technicians help protect the hearts of hospitalized patients at Saint Joseph Hospital from more than 1,000 miles away.

Until last spring, members of the medical staff at Saint Joseph Hospital were responsible for monitoring patients’ telemetry — a steady flow of information about heart function transmitted by a machine at the bedside — from the nurses’ station, a busy environment with plenty of potential for distraction. Now, our on-site team has off-site help.

In April 2023, Saint Joseph Hospital began using a central monitoring unit (CMU) located in Phoenix, Arizona, to track telemetry. Telemetry technicians in the CMU focus solely on detecting problems with patients’ hearts.

The CMU team in Phoenix keeps a close eye on patients’ cardiac information.

“Patients requiring continuous monitoring of their heart rate and rhythm are candidates to be monitored remotely from the CMU,” said Connie Charles, MSN, RN, CCRN, director of nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital. “Technicians in the CMU are trained to recognize cardiac arrhythmias that cause the heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly.”

When a technician detects a heart rhythm abnormality, they notify the nursing team at the hospital.

“The CMU uses technology to keep our patients safe and improve communication,” Charles said. “Remote monitoring gives time back to our nurses and nursing assistants to spend with patients at the bedside.”