Union Hospital Health Group to implement Advanced eICU Care program

The Tribune Star

TERRE HAUTE -- Advanced ICU Care and Union Hospital Health Group recently announced plans to implement Advanced ICU Care's eICU program to enhance patient care and safety in the intensive-care units.

The program will use remote computer monitoring to connect Union Hospital and West Central Community Hospital ICU patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to critical-care physicians and nurses from Advanced ICU Care's Monitoring Center. This eICU technology, in collaboration with Union and West Central's local medical and nursing staff, provides an extra level of care to patients, and has been proven to help save lives and shorten the length of ICU and hospital stays.

Union and West Central will begin using Advanced ICU Care's program in spring 2009 in their 34 ICU beds. Remote care tools, such as real-time video feeds, allows the bedside and Advanced ICU Care remote physicians and nurses to work as one team in caring for patients.

Around-the-clock monitoring of patient data -- such as vital signs, medications and lab results -- along with technology that identifies early warning signs of downward trends, allows physicians to intervene earlier to prevent complications.

"The Advanced ICU Care program further enhances care and safety for our sickest patients," said Dr. Ronald Leach, medical director at Union Hospital. "This is not a replacement for care, but rather it augments the high-quality care provided by our team of critical-care specialists here at the bedside. Nationally, hospitals that have implemented eICU programs have found significantly improved patient outcomes, including reduced complications and shorter lengths of stay. Our patients and the communities we serve deserve this level of care."