Friday Five – Virtual Nursing and Virtual Sitting
New Care Models That Boost Nurse Satisfaction
Many health systems are progressing on a path from virtual sitting to virtual nursing, enabling them to extend precious resources to drive high-quality patient care, while also allowing nursing staff to work at the top of their licenses. In honor of National Nurses Week, this week’s Friday Five lists 5 hospitals that are experiencing the benefits of virtual care, an emerging care model that gives nurses more time for their most satisfying work – spending time on direct patient care.
Holzer Pogresses from Virtual Sitting to Virtual Nursing
Using a virtual care platform, scarce specialists in neurology, nephrology, diabetes education, and wound care can serve more patients in Ohio-based Holzer Health System’s main Gallipolis Hospital in addition to the rural critical access Jackson Hospital 30 miles away.
Holzer has one certified wound and ostomy nurse (CWON) serving both facilities. Natalie Gardner BSN, RN, CWON, CFCS, described the benefits: “This has provided a way for me to do video consults with the Jackson facility, which saves precious time as well as mileage. The staff take the device to the patient’s room, remove their dressings, and position the patient so that I can see the wound. This leaves me more time to spend with all patients by eliminating the time it would take to drive to Jackson and back.”
St. Luke’s reduces falls and staffing costs
VA North Texas team is pictured with their AvaPrize Award based on their remarkable outcomes.
Virtual sitting saved St. Luke’s $1.5 million in 2023, prevents more than 529 falls each month, and decreases staffing costs.
“Implementing a virtual sitter program optimizes staff efficiencies by allocating our resources more effectively – thereby, reducing the burden on staff and allowing them to focus on other critical aspects of patient care, while the virtual sitter program handles routine observation tasks,” said Cole Rogers, RN, St. Luke’s.
Providence nurses view virtual sitting as resource gain
Researchers surveyed 74 nurses from Renton, Wash.-based Providence, twice a day for three weeks, and found that virtual sitting — where caregivers monitor patients remotely — improved their “emotional labor” and “emotional exhaustion” over in-person sitting.
“This new evidence supports our experience that virtual sitting improves the well-being of our nurses and helps maintain patient safety,” said study co-author Emily Anderson, MSN, RN, a nurse manager at Providence Medical Center.
North Texas VA improves patient safety and reduces costs with virtual sitters
After adopting virtual sitting, the North Texas VA is saving an average of 83 full-time equivalents per month–an annual savings of $3.4 million, has reduced inpatient fall rates by nearly 20%, and decreased hourly patient sitting costs by nearly 90%.
VA North Texas team is pictured with their AvaPrize Award based on their remarkable outcomes.
Hines VA adopts virtual system to monitor hospice and nursing home patients
At Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, staff can observe up to 15 patients simultaneously through a virtual interface to monitor for issues such as a patient-out-of-bed or patient-caused medical device interference.
“It’s the hospital room of the future, today,” said James Doelling, Hines VA hospital director. “Military Veterans have unique medical needs that often require continuous monitoring. With this innovation, we continue to provide the latest medical technology and improve our patients’ overall health.”
ICYMI – Our other Friday Fives and Blog posts from HCNR’s Nurse Lauren.
