Specialists offer care through telemedicine
HARRISBURG - With a quick keyboard stroke, several Southern Illinois hospitals, including Harrisburg Medical Center, have access to neurology specialists for stroke victims.
The Southern Illinois Telemedicine Initiative connects the Southern Illinois Healthcare specialists to all three SIH hospitals - Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Herrin Hospital and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital - as well as facilities in Harrisburg and DuQuoin, with expansion to McLeansboro and Benton in the near future.
The technology is rather simple: specialists receive stroke alerts and usually a phone call from a hospital emergency room. They can then access their laptops to see inside the emergency room, thereby connecting with the medical staff, the patient and his/her family. Cameras are mounted on a computer at the hospital which includes a zoom lens which allows the specialist to actually see inside a patient's pupils or ears. The specialists then communicate with the medical staff through their laptop or desktop.
Rural health care practitioners have the ability to use the telemedicine products to capture and transmit medical data and images to peers and specialists, allowing for expert consultations and improved patient care. Telemedicine technologies can be used to connect rural patients with physicians anywhere in the country.
"With this technology we can examine the patient with the help of a nurse at the bedside. With a few commands, we can get a very detailed history on our patients that are suffering from stroke-like symptoms," said Dr. Alejandro Hornik, a neurointensivist with SIH.
"The one thing we can't replace is the bedside care that doctors and nurses are providing. We work with them to obtain information in order to make an informed decision (about care)."
Rodney Smith, CEO of Harrisburg Medical Center, said the initiative was launched several months ago at that facility.
"It's a great way for real-time assessment on patients that come here, hooking up with a neuroscientist in the area to be able to care for our patients in a better and faster way."
He added, "This is the future of health care in rural areas."
Smith said the hospital teamed up with Southern Illinois Healthcare to write a grant for the purpose of developing and implementing infrastructure to be able to provide telemedicine to Southern Illinois.
The $488,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant was awarded earlier this year.
"We're no stranger to technology. For the third year in a row, we've been recognized nationally as one of the top 25 rural hospitals for being most wired. Most wired in an award for being technologically advanced."
Smith said the program also allows for patients with behavioral health problems to connect with a psychiatrist through SIH.
Catherine Hungate, telemedicine coordinator at SIH, said with extra grant money, the program may expand to other hospitals. She indicated Hamilton Memorial Hospital will receive the technology next month and it will be offered at Franklin Hospital in Benton by the end of the year.
Harrisburg Medical Center E.R. Medical Director Robert Hodson said the program "sends out a loud and clear message to the community that we want to provide the most efficient and optimal care that we can."
SIH Stroke Coordinator Danielle Barker said it's important people in the community recognize the signs of a stroke, using the acronym FAST. F is for face, A is for arm (tinkling), S is for speech and T is for time.
"Every minute 2 million brain cells died so that's why time is of the essence and you need to get help quickly so we advise people to call 911 and let the EMS get you to the hospital so you can get the appropriate care you need," she said.