NC Health System Launches Virtual Care Clinic in Apartment Building

Atrium Health has launched a virtual care clinic to provide Peppertree Apartment residents of Ascent Housing with remote care options.

The clinic includes an onsite healthcare technician, a medical professional, video visit capabilities, a telehealth platform, and other virtual care technology.

“At Atrium Health, we believe that it’s essential for people to have safe, sustainable and affordable housing, not only because it is integral to overall health and well-being, but because everyone deserves a secure space to call home,” said Kinneil Coltman, executive vice president, chief community and social impact officer of Advocate Health, which owns Atrium Health, in a press release. “We also believe that health care is a fundamental right to which everyone should have access, regardless of their background, income or where they live.”

Driven by this vision, Atrium Health implemented a virtual primary care clinic at Peppertree Apartments. Through this resource, patients have the ability to access remote healthcare capabilities.

The components of the clinic include an onsite healthcare technician to aid with video visits, along with a telehealth platform and technology to perform assessments. These include a remote medical professional performing a comprehensive health examination with tools such as a tele-stethoscope, a tele-otoscope, and a high-resolution camera.

The clinic will also provide testing for conditions such as influenza, COVID-19, strep throat, and more.

“With this virtual care location, we are taking a step toward closing the gap in health care access and making it easier for our patients to get the care they need and deserve,” said Coltman.

Those affiliated with Ascent Housing also noted the value associated with the program and the potential it shows in advancing care quality and access.

“The balancing act of time, transportation, work and child care creates immense obstacles for households in need of critical resources, like health care,” said Mark Ethridge, principal at Ascent Housing, in the press release. “The introduction of this clinic removes those obstacles, providing primary care services at the doorstep of the households we are trying to serve.”

The use of virtual capabilities and technology to enhance patient access to care is on the rise.

In January, Ballad Health Medical Associates added new resources to assist patients in accessing virtual and in-person care.

The organization noted that the addition of digital tools would allow patients to engage in in-person visits in a clinical location as well as virtual visits with a physician. Ballad Health further described how primary care resources could assist in treatment access. These resources would also help with scheduling and receiving diagnoses.

Health systems are also continuing to add telehealth services to their offerings.

In December 2022, the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System added a telehealth program known as TeleCritical Care (TeleCC) to the intensive care unit of the C.W.Y VA Medical Center.

The health system's primary goal in adding the TeleCC to the ICU was to enhance care quality through a monitoring resource. This resource is available 24/7, allowing Veterans Health Administration physicians and nurses to use virtual technology and clinical information to improve communication and patient care.