Telemedicine and Videoconferencing Services
Examples – Telemedicine and Videoconferencing Services
Bismarck, ND case example 1 Harris and Elaine Hanson were married 42 years ago on February 23rd, in Mott, ND. Harris worked as a heavy construction operator for many years, and together they had lived in numerous areas throughout the United States, including North Dakota. Elaine was a homemaker for the most of their married life and also a previous employee of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Dickinson. In the year 2000, Harris was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was successfully treated at St. Alexius Medical Center and fortunately went into remission. Together, Harris and Elaine rejoiced in his good health. In the later part of 2001, Elaine was diagnosed with lung cancer and had chemotherapy but unfortunately the disease was progressing. On Wednesday, April 3rd, Harris and Elaine’s lives took a turn for the worst when they were both admitted to different hospitals for medical emergencies. Harris was seen in the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson, ND, for swelling in his left leg that was increasing rapidly. He was quickly transferred to St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, ND for radiation treatment that could not be done immediately in Dickinson. At the same time Elaine was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson. She was deteriorating rapidly and needed acute care and pain management for her cancer. At St. Alexius, a blood clot was diagnosed in Harris’ left leg so he could not travel to Dickinson to be with Elaine, for what Harris believed could be be her last days. One of his physicians, Dr. Glen Hyland, a radiation oncologist from the Bismarck Cancer Center, stated Harris was weeping and becoming emotionally distraught knowing his wife may not live through the night. Desperate times call for desperate and creative measures, and that’s what happened. He contacted the St. Alexius Telehealth Department and asked if a telemedicine connection could be made with St. Joseph’s Hospital & Health Center so Harris and Elaine could see each other that day. “In caring for the patient we always look at how to diagnosis and treat the patient, but occasionally we also have to meet a more serious need, the psycho-social well being of the patient,” stated Dr. Hyland, and he knew that telemedicine could do just that. St. Alexius telemedicine coordinator, Andie Eberle, also concurred, “This example shows that telemedicine is not only available for doctor-patient and education connection, but it is also there for the emotional connection.” Andie contacted the telemedicine coordinator at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Care Center, Becky Elkins, who took care of contacting Elaine, her physician and the St. Joseph’s nursing staff. According to Andie and Becky, coordinating the visit went very smoothly. All parties involved were very eager to make this connection happen as quickly as possible. In the afternoon Harris was brought to the Telehealth Department at St. Alexius in a specialized chair that allowed him to lie flat during the tranfer from his hospital room. Simultaneoulsy, Elaine was taken on a hospital bed to the Emergency Room at St. Joseph’s where the telemedicine equipment is located. The reunion was short but very emotional, not only for Harris and Elaine, but for the staff that participated in the reunion via interactive video. No one knows what the two high school sweethearts were thinking as they saw and talked to each other for the last time. They said good-bye to each other in a way only a lifetime of care, compassion and love can. After they both said their good-byes, Harris asked to have another telemedicine connection on Friday, with the hope that he could return to Dickinson on the weekend to be with her. Unfortunately that visit never happened. Elaine passed away Friday morning, just hours before the next telemedicine connection was to occur. At that time, Harris remarked the last visit with Elaine meant the world to him, and he was thankful telemedicine was available. case example 2 With the help of St. Alexius Telecare Network, Kim is now able to receive speech therapy services as part of her ongoing treatment to aide in her recovery from this devastating head injury . Carrie Selle, Speech Therapist at St. Alexius, notes “Kim has made remarkable improvement in her cognitive and speech skill. She has progressed from a level of not being able to verbalize, to currently being able to use her voice for basic needs and wants. With gains in her cognitive abilities, Kim has begun to return to her high school classwork. Her motivation and positive attitude are second to none; with hard work, determination and this unique opportunity for intensive speech therapy, she has already far surpassed the cognitive and communication prognosis she was given by medical professionals in the first several months after the accident.” For Kim living in Ashley, North Dakota, Telemedicine was the difference between care in her own community and care at a hospital more than 120 miles away. Her parents, farmers, simply would not have had the time or the resources to travel such a distance, and Kim would not have made the progress that has given her the quality of life she has today. Today, Kim is still making progress in leaps and bounds and recently attended her junior prom, where there was not a dry eye in the room.
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