>> [Background Music] I have Mrs. Jones here.
She's 30 years old.
She just came to me from the emergency room.
>> In FHN Memorial Hospital, in Freeport, Illinois.
>> Any pain going down your arm or up into your neck at all?
>> No. I just, I feel pressure in my chest.
>> Intensive care patients are getting an extra layer of care from experts 65 miles away.
Critical care doctors and nurses at UW Health in Medison,
Wisconsin are monitoring the patients 24 hours a day,
7 days a week with an electronic ICU program called e-Care of Wisconsin.
>> Pain in your arm going up into your neck.
>> I tell all my patients and their families you have the advantage of physically being
in Freeport which is convenient for family
but really have one leg here and one leg on the ICU at UW.
>> They're continually monitoring our patients but not assuming the care.
So if I come into the room and I'm thinking, something isn't right, I can push a button
and get another person immediately in the room.
>> We can look at the blood pressure, you have pulse, you have temperature,
you have blood work, your lab, everything on the computer.
I guess including my notes, the notes of the cardiologist, et cetera.
They have full access to everything.
>> I took a look at her chest x-ray and that actually look quite normal.
>> And with the use of two-way video cameras, the experts at UW Health can interact
with caregivers at Freeport as well as patients and families within seconds.
>> A lot of my interactions are with the nursing staff but also really anybody who comes
into the room and is involved in patient care.
What I find very gratifying is being able to look at the patients directly sometimes.
The other aspect is the ability to voice opinions
and provide information to the patient's families.
That's so critical in this setting.
>> The UW Health critical care physicians and nurses can also provide a wealth of experience
that comes with seeing a high volume of critically ill patients.
>> We've seen these septic or sick patients hundreds of times.
And so we look into a room even from a video or from the gaunter
or medical records and visiting with the patient.
You just get a sense of their illness.
>> We enjoy having that expert set of eyes looking at our patient.
>> Our most critically ill patients are able to stay in their neighborhood, their families have,
you know, short distance to travel and they're receiving the benefits
of having the UW collaboration with FHN to provide care.
>> So a little extra oxygen might help you feel better.
>> And one of the other things that we saw was
that our patient recovery time also was shortened as well.
Which adds to that theory that in addition to providing exemplary care,
one of the most important things
that we shouldn't understate is family support right there at the bed side.
>> In addition to providing enhanced patient care, the e-Care program
at UW Health also serves as a valuable recruiting tool
for community hospitals looking to hire and retain staff.
>> I think when we are talking to nurses who are interested in working here and we're able
to tell them that we have access to UW and to the e-Care.
They are wowed by that.
They know that they have that resource available to them and that layer
of care available in this small rural setting.
It's something that they're attracted to.
>> A lot of our sites makes staff with two nurses and if they staff
with two nurses, one nurse is new to the ICU.
Our nurses can check in and provide a really great post-orientation mentorship.
>> From a staff perspective it really allows us to collaborate with UW and care
for those higher acuity patients that again we wouldn't be able to normally care for.
When you look at professional growth and what it does for our nursing profession,
that's also really a very positive thing for us.
>> And from your stomach here.
>> The thing that people focus on is the bedside care.
As we get information from the patient's medical records, that information then gets organized
into reports and looks for best practice.
And finally the patients are staying in their community but you can show them and participate
with them in making that care great.
And so that they can be very confident that when they stay there
that the care is at a high level.
>> e-Care Wisconsin, a service that can reduce patient stays,
improve outcomes and help save lives.