Foundation Funds New Care Technology in Response to COVID-19 Surge
Donations to Union Health Foundation are bringing groundbreaking technology to the Wabash Valley to help in the care of patients suffering from COVID-19.
The Foundation awarded a $97,500 grant to Union Hospital for the purchase of a Masimo SafetyNet patient management system. The state-of-the-art system allows clinicians to remotely care for patients via a tele-medicine device so they can recover in the comfort of their homes while under supervision of a hospital clinical team.
Patients will be given a pulse oximeter to wear on their hand, which wirelessly connects to a smart device and transmits patients’ oxygen levels and other vital signs to a monitoring site at Union Hospital.
“Although the pandemic has stressed the hospital and its resources, innovative programs are being quickly implemented to revolutionize the healthcare system,” said Jimmy McKanna BS, RRT, Manager of Respiratory Therapy at Union Health. “This technology is a giant leap into the future of healthcare. This system will allow monitoring of lower-acuity COVID-19 patients while they are at home, but still providing medical oversight and options for face-to -face assessments by clinicians at the Respiratory Clinic. This “hospital at home” type of approach will allow our hospital-based clinicians more resources in providing continuous critical care for patients.”
Patients without WiFi will be provided with a MiFi unit to enable access to the Masimo system. The grant provides funding to equip 650 patients, and the system is expected to be live by mid-December. Additionally, this technology transcends COVID-19 and will have multiple applications in chronic disease management for the Wabash Valley community in the future.
“We are extremely grateful to our donors. Their continued support makes it possible for us help our community and healthcare care providers in this fight against COVID-19,” said Foundation Executive Director Joel Harbaugh. “The Foundation is dedicated to improving the delivery of healthcare in our community, and right now the pandemic is our greatest challenge.”
The Foundation recently kicked-off its Annual Community Giving Campaign, which will help fund the necessary resources local healthcare workers need to respond to the worsening health crisis.
“Our community and Union Hospital joined together during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 to pull through one of the worst medical disasters in American history,” Harbaugh said. “This is the pandemic of our generation, and our community is pulling together again to support the extraordinary efforts of our caregivers.”
To make a gift to Union Health Foundation’s Campaign and support the fight against COVID-19 in the Wabash Valley, go to unionhealthfoundation.org.
