UMHC activates Philips VISICU eICU Program to care for critically ill patients

Dec 23 2009

University of Mississippi Health Care (UMHC) announced today its activation of the Philips VISICU eICU® Program to enhance care of the critically ill in rural communities of Mississippi. As the first health system in the region to implement the eICU Program, UMHC will serve as the lead resource for critical care across Mississippi.

UMHC is using the Philips VISICU eICU Program and its state-of-the-art clinical decision support and remote monitoring capability to connect off-site UMHC critical care physicians and nurses to ICU patients and their bedside care teams. The remote eICU team continuously monitors patient conditions to alert bedside staff of potential problems before they occur and to guide early intervention and treatment. With its proven track record of expanding access to critical care specialists and improving patient outcomes, the eICU Program will allow UMHC and its collaborating hospitals to enhance the quality of critical care across the state.

"We are excited to be expanding our patient care services to include this layer of critical care support at the state's only academic medical center," said David Putt, interim CEO of University Hospitals and Health System. "Our mission is to provide the highest quality care to our communities, and this program gives us the means to enhance that level of service in partnership with Delta Health Alliance and with other Mississippi hospitals."

UMHC's Intensiview(SM) Program supplements existing bedside care, with the remote eICU team collaborating with the ICU team to provide early intervention and optimal care. The eICU team includes an intensivist physician, specially trained in caring for critically ill patients, and critical care nurses providing remote 24x7 supplemental support to the bedside care teams. UMHC also plans to use the Intensiview Program to enhance critical care training for nursing and medical students as part of its ongoing commitment to clinical education.

A total of 83 beds will be monitored with Intensiview, including all ICU beds, four beds for transplant patients, and four beds for stroke patients. Intensiview services will be expanded to other hospitals across the state, starting with Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville, MS -- an arrangement made possible through financial assistance from Delta Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization based in Stoneville, MS, that advocates, develops and implements collaborative programs to improve the health of citizens in the Delta.

"Philips VISICU shares UMHC's commitment to high quality care for all patients," said Frank T. Sample, Philips VISICU CEO. "It is rewarding to see a health system like UMHC use the eICU Program to leverage its critical care resources to improve the health and well-being of the rural Delta region and surrounding Mississippi communities."

Philips VISICU is leading the transformation of critical care through its eICU Program. Using remote monitoring and clinical intelligence, critical care resources are leveraged to enhance specialist access, improve clinical outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs.