Albemarle, N.C.-based Atrium Health Stanly plans to launch a virtual nursing program thanks to a $1.45 million grant.
The grant is the largest of several funded through a $4 million gift to the Atrium Health Foundation from the Duke Endowment. Atrium Health Stanly will become the first rural North Carolina hospital fully wired for virtual nursing. The program is expected to create 50 new jobs.
“We are grateful to the Duke Endowment for embracing Atrium Health’s forward-thinking approach to meeting our evolving needs for nursing care,” said Marietta Abernathy, DNP, RN, facility executive for Atrium Health Stanly, in a July 11 news release. “Having cameras in every room will enable our bedside nurses to focus on direct patient care while virtual nurses provide continuous monitoring and timely interventions, helping to reduce hospital readmissions and improve outcomes.”
Atrium Health’s parent system, Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health, has one of the largest virtual nursing presences in the country. But the care model has been slower to roll out in rural areas.
The $4 million in grants also includes $559,000 for Atrium Health to study the effects of DAX Copilot‘s Spanish-language translation capabilities, $775,000 to develop online scheduling for Atrium’s school-based virtual clinics, and $755,000 to support a dedicated headquarters and apprenticeship positions for the Health Sciences Academy at Monroe, N.C.-based Atrium Health Union.
