Partnership Adds Virtual Nursing Program to Improve Patient Safety

Mary Washington Healthcare is working in collaboration with Caregility to leverage its Inpatient Virtual Engagement (IVE) solution to support a virtual nursing program within Stafford Hospital.

Mary Washington Healthcare is a regional medical system providing inpatient and outpatient care through over 50 locations. Encompassing locations such as Mary Washington Hospital, a 471-bed regional medical center, and Stafford Hospital, a 100-bed community hospital, the non-profit system is fully integrated. 

The health system recently entered into a collaboration with Caregility, a virtual care solutions provider, to improve inpatient patient safety and care communications through the implementation of a virtual nursing program. The Caregility IVE solution will support the program, which will be launched at Stafford Hospital.

The virtual nursing program will involve clinicians using synchronous, video-enabled technology to care for patients who do not require hands-on care. The IVE solution includes telehealth, observation and consultation, and device fleet management capabilities.

“We see Virtual Nursing as a way to support our commitment to adopting new technologies that keep our clinicians providing leading-edge patient care,” said Debra Marinari, associate vice president of hospital operations at Mary Washington Healthcare’s Stafford Hospital, in a press release. “By improving the experience of our care team, we positively impact patient safety and experience.”

The technology integrates with the Epic EHR system, enabling staff to launch virtual visits within the EHR. In addition to enhancing patient care, the program aims to reduce clinician burden.

“Inpatient Virtual Nursing will allow us to leverage technology to implement flexible care delivery models, simultaneously enhancing quality and experience for patients while providing additional support for our bedside caregivers,” said Christopher Newman, MD, chief operating officer and chief medical officer at Mary Washington Healthcare, in the press release. “It will also allow us to modernize what patient care looks like while improving our ability to manage variability in day-to-day capacity challenges.

The virtual nursing program is not the only digital health initiative at Mary Washington Healthcare. Other efforts include robotics-based support for point-to-point supply management and expanding hybrid care models to urgent care and rural community settings.

Other providers have also made moves to bolster virtual nursing capabilities and training.

In November 2022, Avera Health received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to conduct projects related to training on telehealth, telemetry monitoring, virtual nursing, and cultural awareness. Additionally, the organization aimed to provide support for the nursing and rural public health workforce.

The funding from HRSA consisted of two grants. The first supports a three-year Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program to cross-train on skills such as telehealth, health information technology, and virtual care services.

The second grant is part of the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention Registered Nurse Training Program. It will support Partnering to Address the Critical Nursing Shortage in South Dakota (PREPARE-RNs), a project that aims to prepare nurses to work in rural acute-care critical access hospitals through education on cultural awareness, social determinants of health, and health literacy.