Virtual acute care nursing

Virtual nursing today calls for innovative, high-quality patient care delivery that also reduces the everincreasing burden on nurses. To advance this dual goal, ChristianaCare launched a Virtual Acute Care Nurse program, piloting it in one surgical unit and one medical unit. Nurses collaborated to design virtual and bedside workflows that promote optimal patient care and improve both caregiver and patient experiences.

Virtual nurses manage responsibilities that can be completed remotely, such as admissions, medication histories, discharge documentation, patient and family education about diagnoses and medications, pain reassessments and more. They communicate directly with patients and family members via tablets and with onsite nurses and providers. Nurses at the bedside are responsible for nursing care that can’t be completed virtually, including physical head-to-toe assessments, IV starts, wound care and more.

After only a few months of the pilot program, patient feedback in areas like symptom comprehension and care discussion at the bedside significantly improved in both pilot units. Additionally, readmission rates decreased in both units, while the average length of stay decreased in our medical unit. As of June 28, 2023, virtual acute care nursing had expanded to more than 500 beds, exceeding our goal of 500 beds by this time.

ChristianaCare’s Center for Virtual Health continues to grow and expand. The center’s care team of nurse practitioners, physicians, specialists and pharmacists support even more patients with an ever-expanding list of services, including virtual primary care and 24/7 virtual care for college students.

3 million+ text messages sent and received

3,000+ virtual primary care visits

Linking vital information

20 virtual primary care patient “touches” on average per year per patient

Body, mind, spirit and attention to all

ChristianaCare’s Nursing Integrative Care program started in July 2022, led by Nursing Integrative Care Manager Stacy Noel, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, HTCP/I. The program offers information and classes to support caregiver well-being, including meditations, Healing Touch, mindfulness practices, information on self-hand massages, aromatherapy and other wellness resources.

The Nursing team wrapped up a fall 2022 pilot of VitalsLink, a technology that enables wireless import of vital signs into a patient’s electronic medical record The project is expanding to all campuses this year

39 minutes saved per day per nurse

Moxi turns 1

Last year, ChristianaCare became the first health system in the Philadelphia region to pilot Moxi, a collaborative robot — or “cobot.” The cobot assists nurses on our Newark campus by making deliveries and performing other nonclinical tasks so that nurses and other clinical staff can spend more time focused on what they do best: caring for patients.

Robots helping at home

HomeHealth is testing Amazon Astro, a home robot, as part of an innovation research project that puts robots into patients’ homes to supplement caregiver visits. During the pilot project, the agency is working with patients to understand how this emerging technology can help them adhere to their care plans, in addition to elevating their mood and helping to combat social isolation.

4,000 caregiver hours saved for direct patient care

11,000 deliveries made, most within 30 minutes

Endless patient selfies and conversations with Moxi