About the Hospital
Looking to replace its current telemedicine provider with a company that offered a dedicated remote care team, Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics, located in north-central Iowa, turned to Eagle. The hospital system offers specialized care at their 25-bed Critical Access Hospitals in Clarion and Belmond, Iowa. The hospitals serve residents of this farming region due north of Des Moines and Ames. Today, both hospitals utilize Eagle’s TeleHospitalist services.
Challenge
Like many small hospitals, Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics was having trouble recruiting providers. Tenured physicians were preparing to retire and those still working were no longer interested in being on call 24/7.
Their first attempt with a night-time remote care team wasn’t a good fit. The telemedicine system worked with a large number of providers, and every call involved a different provider. “We never got the same provider twice,” says Robyn Paulsen, Director of Telehealth, Community, and Business Development. “The technology was also inadequate, simply a small iPad attached to an IV pole,” she says. “It was very hard for the team to manage patients with that process, and the technology felt unrefined.”
Solution
Iowa Specialty Hospital – Clarion started their remote care team coverage on July 30, 2018, and currently has five Eagle providers. Iowa Specialty Hospital – Belmond started their Eagle coverage on July 1, 2019. This hospital also works with five Eagle providers. The TeleHospitalists are on-call primarily during the night and weekend shifts, which helps the limit hospital transfers.
Benefits & Outcomes
- Fast Response Times
- Nursing Support
- Dedicated, Personable Remote Care Team
