Nurses Working Together to Improve Patient Care

Say hello to the future of health care. Saint Joseph Hospital now has a virtual nurse in some patient rooms to enhance patient care and satisfaction.

In December 2022, Saint Joseph Hospital started offering a virtually integrated care program for patients who stay in the hospital. Some patient rooms are now equipped with a virtual nurse, a clinical professional with whom patients can engage remotely, via video.

“The goal of the virtually integrated care program is to make sure we’re delivering excellent care to every patient every time,” said Melissa Bennett, DHA, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive at CHI Saint Joseph Health. “The virtual nurse gives us the opportunity to support our bedside nurses and still deliver excellent care. What we’re starting to see is that the quality of care is increasing because the workload for our nurses is reduced. They’ve got more support, they feel like they can do more and the outcomes and patient experience are improving.”

If you are a patient in one of the virtually integrated care rooms, a virtual nurse is available at your convenience. A virtual nurse can check on you during your stay, make sure your medication is ordered in a timely manner and help your admission and discharge paperwork flow faster.

Of course, you will still have a bedside nurse taking care of you each day, but your virtual nurse is also on call, enabling you to get fast answers to questions you might have.

“You will have a nurse available to communicate your plan of care and help coordinate with your bedside team,” said Amanda Anderson, MSN, RN, director of nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital. “Our virtually integrated care program also lets our bedside nurses spend more quality time with patients. With extra administrative help, our nurses are able to pro-vide an even higher quality care for their patients.”

Don’t worry. Virtual nurses can’t pop in and surprise patients at any time. They need your permission.

The virtually integrated care model is set up via video, and before a patient or the nurse appears on screen, the patient will hear a doorbell-like sound to let you know they would like to visit. After the notification, the nurse will ask if it’s a good time for a video chat. If the patient says yes, both the virtual nurse and patient will appear on screen. If the patient says no, the virtual nurse will check back at another time.

Patient privacy is important, and patient permission is always required before the nurse or patient appears on video. The only time a virtual nurse might show up on screen without prior permission is if he or she feels a patient’s safety is at risk.