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TIFT COUNTY, GA --
Tift Regional Medical Center is celebrating the first year of having an advance ICU system in-place for patient care.  

According to their press release, TRMC began using Advanced ICU Care in 2011 which offers a telemonitoring program that allows an additional off-site team to monitor ICU patients as a back-up to the TRMC staff and physicians.

“Our patients and community are among the first in the nation to benefit from the highest quality of care and patient safety available in hospital intensive care units today,” said Dr. Bill Guest, Chief Quality Officer at TRMC. “Through our partnership with Advanced ICU Care, our patients receive 24/7 monitoring support from critical care, board-certified physicians with telemedicine technology and rigorous focus on best practices.”

This remote care toolbox includes services and technology allowing for real-time video feeds, around-the-clock monitoring of patient data – such as vital signs, medications and lab results, along with technology that identifies early warning signs of downward trends, allowing physicians to intervene earlier to prevent complications. 

After one year using the system, Tift Regional has seen very positive results using the system according to the press release.

The year before we implemented Advanced ICU Care, we took care of about 1,200 patients and our ICU was on diversion 65 times meaning we couldn’t take in any more patients,” Dr. Guest said. “In the first year with the system, we saw more than 1,300 patients. This patient volume increase as well as no diversions was a result of teamwork between our physicians and nurses, eICU and our Affinity Hospital Medicine physicians.