As a federally-designated critical access hospital, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital (founded as Community Memorial Hospital in 1921) has served as a main provider of emergency care in Oconto County for decades. On May 1, 2017, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital launched the use of new technology that takes its emergency care services to a new, advanced level now and into the future. It’s called, Emergency Telemedicine.
Emergency Telemedicine allows patients in the HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital Emergency Department to be seen by emergency medicine physicians at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay … with only the click of a button! It serves as an added resource to the full-time, 24/7 care provided by the highly-skilled and trained emergency medicine providers on staff at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital.
“As part of Hospital Sisters Health System –Eastern Wisconsin Division, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center operate as one family,” said Dan DeGroot, Chief Operating Officer, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital. “As sister hospitals, we share the same mission and practices. Now, thanks to Emergency Telemedicine, we can also be in the same room to provide an enhanced level of emergency care when needed.”
Emergency Telemedicine involves the use of a portable device equipped with a screen, microphone, camera with zoom function and vital sign monitoring tools that can be wheeled to a patient’s bedside. When a patient arrives at the HSHS St. Clare Emergency Department, they are immediately and continuously cared for by the providers on staff. If a consultation or additional exam is needed, providers at HSHS St. Clare can use the Emergency Telemedicine technology to immediately contact a physician at HSHS St. Vincent or St. Mary’s to conduct a video conference and/or exam of the patient. The physicians at HSHS St. Vincent or St. Mary’s are available via Emergency Telemedicine 24-hours a day.
“In the past, consultations between the providers at HSHS St. Clare, St. Vincent and St. Mary’s were conducted over the phone,” said Colleen Koski, Director, Patient Care Services, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital. “Emergency Telemedicine allows us to make more accurate and efficient decisions about patient care. In some cases, it may also eliminate the need for a patient to be transferred to Green Bay for care.”
To learn more about Emergency Telemedicine at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital, click here.
In March 2017, HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital implemented Telestroke, which utilizes the same technology as Emergency Telemedicine to deliver faster, improved care of stroke patients. Click here to learn more about Telestroke at HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital.