St. Mary’s Hospital went live with its new eCare system on March 9, which is an electronic monitoring technology in the hospital’s Intensive Care Center (ICC).  The program complements local care utilizing critical care physicians and nurses based at Christiana Care Health System through a monitoring center in Delaware.

The system closely watches patient conditions from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the week and 24 hours a day on weekends and holidays.  This is done electronically utilizing video and audio technology combined with intelligent monitoring and alarm systems in hopes of improving survival rates, creating shorter hospital stays and reducing costs.

While maintaining patient privacy, the remote center closely monitors patients’ vital signs, labs and x-rays that stream in.  The technology can video in on the patient when called to assess any physical change.  The eCare system can immediately alert local caregivers, recommending corrective action.  This is not a substitute for on-site staff.  It is a collaboration of direct care providers and remote critical clinicians working together on our ICC patients’ behalf.

“The collaboration required for development of this program was of great benefit to all involved,” said Dana Smith-Ruggles, director of ICC, Telemetry and 3 Central.  St. Mary’s is one of six hospitals in the Maryland eCare network and the third to roll out the program. This is the only such partnership in the state to establish this model of care for patients.  In February, the Maryland eCare initiative was chosen as a semi-finalist in the “Innovative Approaches to the Delivery of Healthcare” category from the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization.

“We are very excited about all the possibilities of our combined knowledge and skills,” said Smith-Ruggles.

St. Mary’s Hospital’s ICC patients will benefit by:

• Board certified physicians specializing in critical care are staffing the eCare remote monitors each night for 12 hours and all day on weekends and holidays
• Skilled critical care nurses are on the eCare remote monitors 24/7, every day
• Hospital nurses, respiratory therapists and physicians, including our intensivist, will work together to provide enhanced assessments, planning and care delivery
• Our ICC will now be able to treat more of our patients in the county

For more information on the Maryland eCare network, visit www.marylandecare.org.