University Hospitals offers inpatient virtual nursing

Cleveland-based University Hospitals has activated a whole-hospital virtual nursing program at UH Lake West Medical Center, expanding its connected care team initiative.

The program, which went live Sept. 17, uses Vitalchat’s AI-powered video platform to extend the reach of nurses through secure, two-way communication, according to the news release. Virtual nurses collaborate with bedside clinicians to assist with admissions, discharges, patient education, monitoring and urgent interventions across all inpatient units.

This rollout follows a pilot phase that implemented virtual nursing in six units at five hospitals. During that phase, each unit was staffed with one remote nurse from a centralized command center. Reported benefits included improved patient experience scores, enhanced caregiver engagement, and more efficient workflow support.

The health system plans to expand the program to offer 24/7 coverage, virtual patient observation, and additional use cases in emergency and surgical departments.

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