Advanced ICU Care Expands Operations Into New Mexico

Presbyterian Rio Rancho Medical Center to Implement First Tele-ICU Program in the State

ST. LOUIS (April 20, 2011) - When it opens this fall, Presbyterian Rio Rancho Medical Center will become the first hospital in New Mexico to bring lifesaving tele-ICU services to critically ill patients, thanks to a partnership with Advanced ICU Care, the largest independent provider of tele-ICU services in the country.

Advanced ICU Care uses advanced telemedicine technology to bring 24/7 intensivist (critical care physician) monitoring together with best care practices to deliver an enhanced level of care for ICU patients. With its New Mexico partnership, Advanced ICU Care now operates in nine states and 18 hospitals.

Working in collaboration with ICU clinicians at the bedside at Presbyterian Rio Rancho Medical Center, Advanced ICU Care's board-certified intensivists will monitor ICU patients from St. Louis and support continuous quality improvement in the hospital's six-bed ICU. Advanced ICU Care's intensivist-led program helps hospitals improve patient outcomes and support continuous quality improvements.

"We are proud to be the first hospital to deliver this groundbreaking level of care to patients in New Mexico," says Clay Holderman, administrator of Presbyterian Rio Rancho Medical Center. "The Advanced ICU Care program will bring 24/7 critical care expertise directly to our patients, along with evidence-based best care practices, to enhance the high quality care provided by our physicians. This is yet another example of how we will provide the highest standards in patient care and safety with our new 21st century hospital."

The partnership is particularly significant considering approximately 5 million adults are admitted to intensive care units every year, while only about 10 percent of all hospitals have intensivist programs on site. Multiple studies have found that tele-intensivists improve clinical and financial outcomes. Hospitals using tele-ICU programs have seen great improvements in patient outcomes, mortality, length of stay, margin per case, patient retention and volume growth. The New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI) recent study "Critical Care, Critical Choices: The Case for Tele-ICUs in Intensive Care," further confirmed the positive impact on ICUs. Hospitals that have implemented Advanced ICU Care's program have seen a marked reduction in the patient length of stay and mortality in the ICU and significant volume growth.

"We are excited to partner with the new Presbyterian Rio Rancho Medical Center and work together with their physicians in the ICU to provide the highest standard of care for patients," said Mary Jo Gorman, M.D., MBA, chief executive officer for Advanced ICU Care. "We applaud Rio Rancho's clear focus on quality and technology and its leadership in bringing this proven care program to patients in New Mexico."

Since 2005 Advanced ICU's program has been implemented in more than 20 hospitals spanning nearly a dozen states. Hospital partners range from a 60-bed community hospital to a 400-bed Level 2 trauma center.

About Advanced ICU Care
Advanced ICU Care®, a medical service company headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., provides high-quality critical care to patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Through experienced clinicians, supported by cutting-edge telemedicine technology and a process improvement program, Advanced ICU Care provides continuous ICU patient monitoring and improved care and safety outcomes to critically ill patients across the country. Hospital ICUs are linked with Advanced ICU Care's Monitoring Center, allowing Advanced ICU Care's board-certified intensivists and critical care nurses to monitor hospital ICU patients from a central location. For more information, visit: www.icumedicine.com.