Florida-Based Lee Health Scales Up Virtual Nursing Program

Lee Health, one of Florida’s largest health systems, is expanding its virtual nursing program in partnership with telehealth company Caregility.

The expansion includes the deployment of Caregility APS200 Duo dual-camera telehealth devices, building on the existing fleet of telehealth wall systems and carts to more than double the health system’s inpatient virtual care footprint. With this expansion, Lee Health’s virtual acute care infrastructure will cover more than half of the health system’s beds in its four acute-care hospitals, equipping nearly 1,000 patient rooms with bedside telehealth technology. 

“The growth of our telehealth options accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic out of necessity to ensure patients received important care safely and we were able to ensure continuous support for our medical teams,” said Rick Schooler, CIO of nonprofit Lee Health, in a statement. “Through our expansion since then, we’ve evolved our virtual care capabilities to include an award-winning inpatient virtual observation program and now virtual nursing to improve patient outcomes utilizing available, improved technology to help our clinical staff.” 

“Our virtual nursing program introduces innovative possibilities in patient care workflows by connecting the care in the complex patient journey,” said Jennifer Higgins, D.N.P., R.N., chief nursing officer of Lee Health, in a statement. “From admissions and discharges to continuous patient monitoring, patients benefit from an additional team member dedicated to their care. We anticipate this additionally offering our nurses time for patients that need more hands-on care.”