Omaha, NE, April 15, 2019 – BANYAN Medical Systems has now deployed its innovative AURA virtual care provider solution at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, Kansas. This makes Stormont Vail the first hospital in the state of Kansas to implement a virtual (teleprofessional) care provider solution to enhance patient care.
The AURA virtual care provider solution by BANYAN Medical Systems is an innovative digitally-based and patient-centric platform, combining the power of its teleprofessional staff with proprietary software, medical information, computers, TV monitors, cameras, microphones and management solutions.
BANYAN’S teleprofessional solution provides hospital patients with more care resources, easier access to care providers and information, additional layers of safety, and enhances overall patient care. Stormont Vail Health is initially deploying the new solution to 48 of the hospital’s 586 inpatient beds.
“Stormont Vail Health is a leader in providing patients with the safest, highest-quality healthcare possible for the community they serve,” said Jolinda Lambert, senior vice president of Strategic Development at BANYAN Medical Systems. “By integrating our AURA solution within their care plan, Stormont Vail Health is taking a major step into the future of innovative healthcare. Our system will allow the hospital to create an even safer place for patients by providing resources which will free bedside nurses to do what they do best — provide exceptional, uninterrupted, hands-on patient care.”
The integration of BANYAN’S revolutionary care delivery platform will give patients, their loved ones, and the entire care-team a critical new dimension of on-demand care. With just a simple touch of a smart screen, patients will have instant video access to a nurse or patient care technician who can — among other things — answer questions about diagnosis and treatment, provide extensive education, review records or x-rays, and coordinate care with the patient’s doctor.
The system utilizes smart-television and touchscreen technologies, and features two cameras, both of which are equipped with night vision. One camera is mounted above the TV and serves as the virtual nurse’s eyes and ears. The other camera is installed in the ceiling, allowing virtual patient-care technicians to monitor for safety — a particularly important feature for patients who have mobility challenges and may be at risk for falling.
“The patient is at the heart of our care. Virtual care team members provide extra eyes, ears and perspectives for bedside nurses, physicians and the rest of the clinical team,” said Carol Perry, chief nursing officer at Stormont Vail Health. “The system also enables our team to share and validate real-time information with patients and their families regarding diagnoses, overall care and clinical outcomes. It may even allow patients to get a better night’s sleep, since the virtual nurse can remotely track vitals and communicate any concerns to the bedside nurse without disrupting the patient.”
The system, which will be utilized primarily during overnight hours and other interval times, does not record any of the live feed, and when a patient requires privacy, such as for an in-room procedure, the cameras are turned off.
“Twenty-first-century nurses still use traditional medical devices such as stethoscopes, thermometers and blood-pressure cuffs, but as health care transforms and innovates, new tools like the virtual teleprofessional emerge that can help us enhance patient care,” said Tracy Duran, nurse manager at Stormont Vail Health. “We believe Banyan’s AURA solution will increase the frequency of direct-care interaction, and thereby improve transparency, quality of care, outcomes and the experience for our patients and their loved ones.”