TripleCare and Covenant Health Join to Transform Elder Care Through Telemedicine Technology
October 16, 2018
NEW YORK & TEWKSBURY, MA–TripleCare, a national provider of telemedicine-based healthcare to the post-acute care sector, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and Covenant Health, a regional Catholic health care system and leader in values-based, not-for-profit health and elder care, are introducing telemedicine technology at Covenant’s member facility, St. Mary’s Villa in Elmhurst Township, PA.
St. Mary’s Villa is an elder care facility comprised of a 112-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, which also supports respite and hospice care, as well as a 64-bed independent and assisted living retirement community.
St. Mary’s Villa marks the fifth Covenant member facility using TripleCare to bring virtual healthcare services to residents at times when staff physicians are not onsite. Its virtual technology enables Covenant Health’s onsite nurses to connect seamlessly with highly trained physicians to diagnose and treat residents in place, especially during evenings, weekends and holidays. Virtual bedside consultations allow TripleCare physicians to efficiently discern if patients need to be transported or can be treated in place.
“TripleCare’s technology is reshaping skilled nursing care as we know it. This is especially true during evenings, weekends and holidays when its telemedicine platform can be used to connect residents, nurses and physicians. This type of consultation helps decrease both hospital transfers and emergency room visits, reducing stress for our residents,” said Nancy Newcomb, administrator, St. Mary’s Villa.
“Keeping our residents’ best interests at heart and delivering state-of-the-art, compassionate care are our top priorities. More importantly, the families we serve feel confident when placing their loved ones in our care, particularly given our ability to now offer 24×7 physician oversight,” Newcomb added.
“We are keenly focused on ensuring that our residents always receive high-quality and affordable care,” said Gerard J. Foley, senior vice president and president for Post-Acute Care at Covenant Health. “Since introducing TripleCare, we’ve been able to identify, diagnose and treat conditions that otherwise would have likely resulted in a trip to the emergency room or a hospital stay,” Foley explained.
Dr. Mary Jo Gorman, CEO at TripleCare, added, “By implementing telemedicine across many of its skilled nursing facilities, Covenant is clearly demonstrating it is at the forefront of bringing cutting-edge, quality healthcare to the patients and the communities it serves. Covenant is embracing new opportunities to better care for their patients by ensuring uninterrupted physician coverage, treating patients in place and attempting to avoid hospital transfers as well as control costs. This is evidence of its commitment to patient care and its ability to successfully navigate today’s changing healthcare landscape.”