| American TeleCare®,
Inc. Announces Partnership with New York City Health & Hospitals
Corporation – HHC Health & Home Care
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (October 28, 2002)
– American TeleCare, Inc. (ATI) announced today that HHC Health
& Home Care, a division of New York City Health & Hospitals
Corporation, has implemented the first home telehealth program that
targets patients who are HIV positive.
In March 2002, HHC purchased 59 of ATI’s
home telehealth units that combine live, audio/video, a telephonic
stethoscope, and other medical peripherals. Home telehealth technology
allows for the remote provision of care, monitoring, and education
to patients in their homes. This will allow nurses to see and talk
to patients as well as to obtain their vital signs. Due to the enhanced
contact between nurse and patient, problems can be detected and
addressed more rapidly than with traditional visits alone.
On why HHC chose to work with ATI, Executive
Director Meryl Weinberg comments, “ATI has the system that
best meets our needs, and their experience as pioneers in telehealth
gives us and, in turn, our patients, confidence that we are providing
compassionate care with responsive leading edge technology.”
HHC chose to focus on this specialized population
due to the complex but highly effective medication regimes that
are prescribed today. “HIV patients need to maintain a precise
schedule for their medications in order to achieve the maximum therapeutic
benefits to prevent opportunistic infections,” says Ann Frisch,
Deputy Executive Director. “Given the medication schedule
and inherent side effects, our patients find great comfort and support
knowing they can communicate with their nurses frequently. The technology
will also help alleviate the nursing shortage by augmenting productivity
for nurses who work with this high needs population. Nurses can
conduct 15-18 telehealth encounters per day versus four to six in-person
visits.”
“HHC and Ms. Weinberg should
be congratulated for applying the proven benefits of home telehealth
to a population with this level of need. We are confident that our
video-based telehealth system will enhance not only the quality
of care HHC can deliver, but the quality of life for these patients,”
notes Randy Moore, MD, Chief Executive Officer for American TeleCare.
Janet Cavallo, RN, MSN, Director of Home Health Telemedicine for
HHC Health and Home Care, added that “satisfaction levels
with the monitoring and technology are high for both patients and
nurses.”
American TeleCare, Inc. guides its business
partners in the development of home telehealth programs. The company
currently markets the AVIVA™ System; an FDA-cleared telemedicine
monitoring system that incorporates live audio/video with integrated
electronic medical peripherals to allow a doctor or nurse to conduct
remote assessments of patients in their homes. The products are
simple to use, and operate through a standard telephone line. For
more information, visit www.americantelecare.com.
HHC Health & Home Care, a division of
the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, is a certified
home health agency and Long Term Home Health Care Program with comprehensive
programs including: Nursing; Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy;
Speech-language Pathology; Audiology; Housekeepers; Homemakers;
Home Health Aides; Personal Care worker; Medical Social Services
and Medical Supplies & Equipment. Service areas include Manhattan,
Bronx and Queens.
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