Trinity Health to roll out virtual nursing program

Editor's Note

Michigan-based health system, Trinity Health, will roll out virtual nurses at its hospitals in the state, and eventually, at its 88 hospitals across the nation, reports January 13 Becker’s Hospital Review.

After a successful pilot project at Trinity Health Oakland, the Virtual Connected Care Program will ideally be implemented across Michigan, reports January 12 Grand Rapids Business Journal.

“We were striving to find a way to care for our patients safely and provide high quality care in the face of a staffing crisis, particularly registered nurses,” says Michigan trinity Health regional chief nursing officer. “Our charge was to find a way to decrease the demand for registered nursing services, while still delivering the care that patients required."

The program involves a 3-person care team: the primary care nurse, licensed practical nurse, and the virtual nurse, all working together to care for their patient.

"We've seen that (virtual nurses) don't just fill in the gaps, they are actually able to proactively anticipate the needs for the patient as opposed to the patient or the family having to initiate those questions," says Trinity Health vice president and transformation officer. She added that another benefit of the program includes more flexibility for nurses to apply their knowledge and expertise, without having to meet excess physical demands.

According to the Business Journal report , the goal for Trinity Health in 2023 is to continue to successfully implement the program at multiple hospitals across the system.