The following is a news release from UMC Health System:
- UMC and Muleshoe Area Medical Center partner to bring better care
- Program not only helps care team and patients, but also saves lives
UMC Health System and Muleshoe Area Medical Center have been involved in pioneering a Telemedicine program together. For a little over a year now, Muleshoe Area Medical Center has had access to video-calling UMC via computer when handling patients. The idea behind our Telemedicine venture was to assist Muleshoe in taking care of emergency cases, while preventing unnecessary transfers to UMC.
“It’s been an excellent service for the community,” said Dennis Fleenor, Hospital Administrator at Muleshoe Area Medical Center. “It provides access to Level I Trauma physicians that our care team and patients wouldn’t have access to unless they drive an hour to Lubbock. It provides a collaboration with physicians so that we can provide adequate care and transfers, when necessary.”
Fleenor describes this effort impossible without the cooperation of UMC Emergency Center physicians. He also said this program has saved lives, not to mention the many more it has significantly helped receive emergency care.
Each hospital has a mobile computer enabled with video-calling. The Telemedicine cart can be moved to show a patient, X-ray, or anything else a UMC physician needs to look at to help Muleshoe care providers.
Dr. Christopher Peil, UMC Emergency Center physician describes Telemedicine helping in three main areas:
- Help care providers care for a specific patient
- Help facilitate transfers to UMC
- Arrange a follow-up with a patient
“Our Telemedicine program provides care providers in Muleshoe a direct connection with UMC,” Dr. Peil said. “It’s worked well, and we hope to expand this program to other facilities in rural areas to help them in this same way.”
UMC Health System has developed a strong and enduring culture, adhering to the motto Service is Our Passion, our ‘why.’ This sustains UMC as the employer of choice— consistently ranking among the best places to work in Texas by the Best Companies Group – and the provider of choice – ranking among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient experience by HealthGrades.
(News release from UMC Health System)
