UAB eMedicine in partnership with UAB St. Vincent’s recently launched UAB Tele-Intensive Care Units at multiple locations.

Patients visiting UAB St. Vincent’s Blount, St. Clair and Chilton will now have access to the subspecialized care of physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital.

“Much like how our cellphones give us the ability to have a video call with a friend or family member in another city, state or country, the Tele-ICU is designed so that we have 24/7 access to UAB specialty clinicians who are not physically in our community hospitals,” said Paul Malito, director of Nursing Services with UAB eMedicine.

The Tele-ICUs at these locations will allow patients to receive care from experienced critical care physicians and nurses. This initiative ultimately seeks to broaden the scope of care received at smaller community-based locations. The access to these additional resources will strive to improve upon the already superior expert care received by visitors to these locations.

“One of the great benefits of the Tele-ICU program is being able to keep patients and their families close to home, in their community, while providing the highest level of care for our critically ill patients,” said Wes Smith, M.D., UAB St. Vincent’s regional chief medical officer.

The UAB critical care telemedicine program prioritizes the value placed on patients’ access to critical care specialists and evidence-based care. Integrating Tele-ICU capabilities into these locations will decrease the need for transfers and in-person consultations to UAB. This highlights the focus on simplifying patients’ health care experience, bringing more effective health care to patients.

“Telemedicine offers relief in the way of decreasing physician and nurse burnout, increasing patient numbers and acuities, and increasing financial return to those hospitals,” Malito said. “By partnering with UAB eMedicine, our communities will continue to receive top-quality health care as well as gain access to so many of the resources UAB has to offer.”