People receiving home health care are paid a visit by a health professional on average - every two to three days – depending on their chronic illness or injury. But what about those days in between when the nurse does not go to the home?
Mecosta County Medical Center’s Home Health Care service recognizes the importance of helping patients feel secure, even on the days when a visit is not scheduled. They now are using a device – the first of its kind in Mecosta County and surrounding area – that allows vital signs to be collected daily and transmitted to a central monitoring system located at MCMC’s Home Health Care office. A registered nurse then reviews the data and if necessary, provides early intervention. Patients also have a daily consistent connection to health care providers. This hospital-grade FDA class II medical device was developed by HomMed.
“Home Telemonitoring is great for people who live in rural areas where there might be many miles between the person and a hospital or physician,” says MCMC Home Health Care Director Vicki Hill, RN. “This device is easy to use, and takes only three minutes to collect patient vital signs from the comfort of home. Each morning vital signs are recorded and transmitted to a nurse who analyzes the readings” she says.
How does home telemonitoring work?
A monitor, placed inside the patient’s home, prompts them to take their vital signs at specific time(s) each day and a friendly voice guides patients through a step-by-step process to measure blood-oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and weight up to 500 pounds. Additional data, such as glucose count, lung function, blood-clotting times and heart rhythms also can also be obtained for specialized patients. The monitor can be programmed to ask up to 51 ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions in 8 different languages according to the diagnosis.
The system organizes this information daily and provides clinicians with trended, relevant reports, while providing patients with a secure and consistent connection to health care providers. It acts as the eyes for the home care nurses when they are not physically with patients (in between visits). This device supplements in-home care, but it does not replace it!
Benefits of using Home Telemonitoring
• Patients are empowered to take an active role in their own care, and are more aware of their symptoms. They will understand the effects that diet, activity, and other factors on their health when taking their vitals on a daily basis.
• Saves lives.
• No cost to Medicare patients who qualify.
• Offers security of knowing that “someone is watching over them” at all times.
• Increases the chances of having a positive recovery.
• Provides preventative and proactive care to patients in a timely manner. Undetected health changes will be decreased, and the slightest changes in health conditions will be identified.
• ER visits and re-hospitalizations are decreased.
Conditions that Home Telemonitoring monitors
- Congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Asthma
- Pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure)
- Chronic renal disease
- CAD
- COPD
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
Home Health Care at Mecosta County Medical Center has been serving our community for over 9 years. Nurses, therapists, social workers, and home health aides offer assistance to people recovering from an illness, accident, or permanent disability or those recovering a medical or surgical procedure, dealing with multiple diseases, using multiple medications, living alone, at-risk patients, discharged from a nursing home, or trying to prevent early institutionalization. For more information about the HomMed Telemonitoring System or other questions about MCMC’s Home Health Care call (231) 592-4209, or find us at www.mcmcbr.com.
