PA Health System Launches Respiratory Therapy Services in Virtual ICUs

Beginning on May 1, Penn State Health will provide respiratory therapy services as part of virtual intensive care unit (ICU) services within two of its medical centers to improve communication between care team members and provide patients with higher-quality care.

Respiratory illnesses are prominent conditions often caused by infection, smoking, secondhand smoke, radon, asbestos, or other forms of air pollution, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The NCI also noted common respiratory diseases, which include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.

To provide additional care for those with these conditions, Penn State Health plans to roll out a respiratory therapy program within the virtual ICUs (vICUs) at two medical centers.

Through the new program, Penn State Health aims to treat larger patient populations, enhance communication between professionals, and improve care quality and continuity.

“The service will provide an additional set of eyes and expertise to monitor and manage critically ill patients throughout the health system,” said Will Hazard, MD, director of the vICU, in a press release. “The addition of virtual respiratory care will support bedside care teams when caring for complex patients or when a respiratory therapist may be caring for other patients or not be immediately available. In addition, tasks such as charting, alarm management and best practices can, to a large extent, be performed virtually, offloading some of these tasks from the in-person respiratory therapist.”

The virtual respiratory therapy services will help clinicians care for a range of conditions, including monitoring oxygen administration and ventilator management for new patients with respiratory issues, said Dana Stauffer, respiratory therapy administrative director at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, in the press release.

“Virtual respiratory therapists increase accessibility to care, providing layered services in hospitals that may be challenged to fully staff respiratory therapy, particularly during the night,” Hazard added. “The virtual respiratory therapy services will enable us to break down geographical barriers to quality respiratory care that may be influenced by local staff shortages in regions Penn State Health serves.”

Although this program will begin on May 1, foundational efforts began in the fall. These entailed a review of department workflow, shadowing registered nurses in the virtual care program, and training team members on the vICU software.

This virtual respiratory therapy program will first launch the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center. It will eventually expand to other Penn State Health medical centers.

Previous provider efforts have also integrated virtual resources and ICU care.

In February 2022, Temple University Hospital added a remote patient monitoring sensor to the 100 beds within its ICUs. Through this tool, clinicians can continuously monitor patient position, orientation, activity, and respiration rate. It also alerts clinicians of potential pressure injuries and detects chest movements to track respiration rates.