LOCH SHELDRAKE - New Hope Community, a leading provider of supports and services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), introduced telehealth services provided by StationMD to more than half of its residences late last year, streamlining health services and avoiding unnecessary exposure to COVID-19.

Effective this month, the agency announced the expansion of this partnership to offer telehealth services for all of its 42 homes. Now when any of the nearly 240 people supported by New Hope Community need urgent medical care, they can receive it remotely, 24/7, from board certified physicians who specialize in treating people with I/DD.

New Hope Community is the first agency in Sullivan County to offer telehealth through StationMD. Funding from the Statewide Healthcare Facility Transformation Program grant made it possible for New Hope Community to join the program in November 2020, with the initial contract to connect 28 of New Hope Community’s homes with the service, starting with those who are most at risk of chronic or serious illness. Within the first six months of implementation, the program resulted in a 90% reduction in visits to the hospital and urgent care facilities for ailments such as rashes, pink eye, minor infections or nausea. It is projected that the program will save an estimated $30,000 annually in expenses, including additional staff salaries resulting from transportation and emergency room visits.

This February alone, New Hope Community averaged 25 calls a month to StationMD, and over the following six months, 174 individuals had been cared for without the disruption of leaving home and being in an unfamiliar or disturbing setting. Of those cases, 157 were treated without a visit to the emergency room. The service has resolved the need for additional staffing in homes when a staff member accompanies an individual on their trip to the hospital, urgent care or physician’s office.

Easy-to-use medical “stations” enable New Hope Community’s nurses and staff to electronically connect with StationMD’s board certified physicians using tablets. High-tech stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs operate on Bluetooth technology to transmit vital signs in real-time for patient evaluations.

Karen Russell, New Hope Community’s Chief Operating Officer who was instrumental in the introduction and implementation of the program, pointed out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program produced timely safety benefits. “By having to make fewer visits to hospitals and urgent care centers, telehealth with StationMD has kept the NHC community safer,” she said. In addition to using leading-edge technology to transmit important health information, she noted that the partnership relies on the on-site expertise of New Hope Community’s staff. “We know our individuals’ medical history, what medications they are on, and any symptoms or other illnesses they are prone to, and we work with StationMD to ensure their medical care is streamlined and consistent,” Russell explained.

“That means our individuals will not get ‘over prescribed’ medication or be in a situation where the clinicians do not fully understand their needs,” said Karen Kerendian, RN, Director of Health Services at New Hope Community. She explained that diagnosing illness and prescribing treatment using StationMD can take as little as 15 minutes, and offers wrap-around care including same day or next day prescription fulfillment and appointments for follow up visits.

Assistant House Manager Adrian Trinidad noted that using StationMD “is a much easier process than regular telehealth because we can speak to a doctor right away and get vitals to the medical team using Bluetooth instruments.” He commented on the positive patient and staff experience saying, “The staff working in the home are often the ones patients are most familiar with so the individuals stay calm instead of being agitated or fearful. And we do not have to leave the house with them and call in for staff coverage.”

StationMD has allowed New Hope Community resident Donna to skip the stressful process of an emergency room visit. “I like this much better. It helps me and the staff, and I can stay home when I don’t feel good.”