Recipients of the I SEE YOU CARE Awards Embody Collaborative Spirit Enabling the Gold Standard of Patient Care through Tele-ICU
Advanced ICU Care, the nation’s leading provider of high-acuity telemedicine services, today announced the recipients of the company’s third annual I SEE YOU CARE Awards. The accolade honors hospitals and individuals who embrace and strengthen the collaborative relationship between bedside providers and Advanced ICU Care’s intensivist-led remote care teams to provide the gold standard of care to the hospital’s most critically-ill patient populations. Established in 2016, the I SEE YOU CARE Awards celebrate the dedicated efforts of the company’s tele-ICU partners that leverage the telemedicine collaboration to truly make a difference in the lives of patients and their families.
Winners are selected from nominations drawn from Advanced ICU Care employees and its partner hospitals in 25 states. This year’s awards recognize thirteen recipients in five categories – clinical program administrator, hospital, nurse, physician and a newly added category, patient story. Award winners included four hospitals and nine individuals. Each recipient was honored with an award presentation and a donation in their name to their hospital’s foundation or a foundation of their choice.
“The entire Advanced ICU Care team values the dedication, diligence and expertise of our partner hospitals and their teams. We are pleased to honor these organizations and individuals for exemplifying the patient-focused, outcomes-oriented care that is the foundation of our tele-ICU service,” said Lou Silverman, CEO of Advanced ICU Care. “Their commitment to our partnership and to delivering the highest standard of patient care makes it our great honor to recognize these individuals and institutions for their ongoing commitment to patients, families and state-of-the-art ICU care.”
Hospitals
- Gordon Hospital (now AdventHealth)
- “From the kick-off to the go-live of the partnership with Advanced ICU Care, this facility has worked as a team who focuses on the patient.”
- Winchester Medical Center
- “The team partnered extremely well, with outstanding physician and nurse leadership that set expectations and then held people accountable. Since implementation, WMC has been a dream to work with.”
Clinical Program Administrators
- Susan L. Clark, DNP, RN, CNL of Tradition Medical Center
- “She views our relationship as a partnership, holds the team accountable, and relies on the data. She has been able to elicit positive change to drive best practices.”
- Melinda D. Hartley, RN, NE-BC, MBA, DNP, PhD of Houston Healthcare
- “As a result of her leadership and vision, more patients are surviving their ICU stay to be discharged from the hospital, and they are receiving best practices consistently.”
- Niki Kallmeyer, RRT-NPS, MS of St. Elizabeth Healthcare
- “Niki started and has been leading a collaborative multidisciplinary team to improve ICU mobility of vented and non-vented patients for the last 18 months. The median length of stay is hitting the AICU benchmark and we have successfully implemented the (program) at our Ft Thomas & Edgewood Campuses.”
- Laura Reilly, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, CNRN of Chilton Medical Center
- “Laura Reilly has championed tele-ICU at Atlantic Health from the beginning and continues to be a strong voice for all things tele-ICU. She is a dynamo, always looking for ways to elevate patient care and utilize the partnership.”
Physicians
- Tallulah F. Holmstrom, MD of Kershaw Health Medical Center
- “She is a huge champion of the partnership and works very cohesively on the telemedicine initiatives because she really believes that tele-ICU saves lives.“
- Michael S. Rosen, MD CPPS of Havasu Regional Medical Center
- “Dr. Rosen has sought to elicit positive change to align with ways to drive outcomes (in the) ICU. He has partnered with other areas/physicians, working hard to make the partnership more collaborative.”
- Francisco Zornosa, MD, of Mercy Medical Center
- “Dr. Zornosa has been a leader with helping to make our collaboration with Advanced ICU successful from day one. (He) has stayed engaged in monthly meetings to keep our ICU running smoothly and efficiently.”
Nurses
- Ruth Cummings, RN, BSN of Central Texas Medical Center
- “Ruth is one special nurse that always does the right thing for her patients, unit and facility even when nobody is watching. She is truly a patient advocate and it shows in her nursing care everyday.”
- Stephanie G. Jurgess, RN, BSN, CCRN of Florida Hospital Carrollwood
- “Thanks to Stephanie’s example and leadership, the entire ICU nursing team speaks highly of and is comfortable relying on AICU for their patient care… When any of the team is asked ‘what is the best thing about working here?’ – invariably the presence of AICU is at the top of their list!”
Best Patient Story
- Chilton Medical Center
- (synopsis) An otherwise healthy young man arrived in the ER after days of flank pain. CT reveals renal stones and the patient is booked for surgery. The patient then developed a persistent fever as well as other signs of sepsis and early septic shock and was admitted to the ICU. Advanced ICU Care assisted the bedside team with reviewing and executing the sepsis bundle within one hour. The patient started showing signs of improvement within an hour and additional positive trending at the three hour mark. Although the story starts like many others, exceptional care and collaboration between the bedside and tele-ICU circumvented further deterioration and lead to the patient’s discharge two days later.
- Palmetto Health Tuomey
- (synopsis) A patient, who was a hurricane evacuee from St. Thomas arrived at Palmetto Health Tuomey in stable condition – smiling, laughing and talking with family. Within 24 hours, his condition rapidly deteriorated with the patient suffering from severe respiratory distress (requiring emergent intubation), pulmonary hemorrhaging, and acute renal failure. The suspected diagnosis was Leptospirosis with a predicted mortality rate of 100%. The multidisciplinary bedside teams and Advanced ICU Care worked together never waned in providing care. Joint efforts, big and small, allowed the patient to receive high quality, compassionate care delivered with hope and determination. Through the teams’ collaborative care, diligent work, and critical thinking, the patient progressed from a most certain death to an 86% chance of survival to eventual discharge with the likelihood of full recovery.
