Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we heard stories of bravery and dedication by the clinical staff on the frontlines, the need for respirators and beds, drugs and therapies being used to help in the fight with the coronavirus. But another critical element in patient care, and ultimately recovery, is family. It is generally recognized that family plays a major role in hospital treatment of patients, as a source of psychological and emotional support.
Mount Sinai Health System adopted a “no visitor policy” across its campuses, to protect patients and staff from the spread of the virus. Though MSBI clinical teams take great care to keep family members and visitors informed, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were severely limited in their ability to stay connected with their loved ones while in isolation ; a virtual solution was needed. Recognizing this gap, Dahlia Rizk, DO, MPH, Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI) had a vision: “iPads in every room so that isolated patients could see and communicate with their family and loved ones.”
With the number of COVID-19 positive patients admitted to MSBI rising, the shortage of available iPads became glaringly apparent. “We really wanted patients to be able to Zoom all day,” explained Dr. Rizk, “but we did not have enough iPads on hand for every unit, which meant our staff had to keep moving them around to different rooms and coordinate their use so that every patient could spend some time using them. An expansion of our current capabilities was needed.” To rectify the situation, Dr. Rizk turned to David Putrino, PhD, Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System. An advocate of innovative technology solutions that promote better healthcare accessibility, Dr. Putrino understood the value of keeping isolated patients connected to their loved ones. Working with Logitech, a longtime supporter of his work, Dr. Putrino once again found an enthusiastic partner willing to donate the needed technology. On April 20th, MSBI received 100 iPads, 100 “Slim Folio” keyboards and 100 Crayons (stylus device). In addition, the Mount Sinai Health System provided portable stands to complement the iPads.
Getting the iPads into the hands of patients quickly brought another key team of specialists together. Informatics, led by Drs. Aaron Patterson and Andrew Yu, along with IT, patient representatives and patient experience, worked at a lightning pace to set up the devices for easy patient access and develop a process to engage patients. “Logitech’s generous donation significantly expanded our capabilities from 93 iPads to 183,” said Aaron Patterson, MD, MBA, MA, Associate Chief Information Officer for the Downtown Campus, Mount Sinai Health System. “Furthermore, now that the iPads were available in every room, we were able to pilot additional features, such as virtual rounding on patients.”
“It was a great moment to see all the iPads lined up in the 2 Dazian rotunda, ready to go up to patients in 8S, 7S, and 5 Karpas,” recalls Hamilton Davis, former Patient Representative in the ED, who volunteered to come back to MSBI during the crisis. In addition to connecting patients and families, the iPads were set up for interpreter access. “The iPads are doing double duty,” offered Mr. Hamilton, “the addition of interpreter access has been incredibly helpful to our physicians, nurses and PCAs. It’s about breaking down barriers to communication.” Now that the iPads are part of the daily patient care regimen, work continues to assess how they are being used on the floors to maximize their effectiveness.
“We’ve seen a positive impact from the iPads,” said Dr. Rizk, who credits the technology with helping patients cope with the isolation and the treatment regimen. Indeed, keeping connected has not only benefitted MSBI patients, but also their family members, as evident from the lovely thank you note received from a son of a patient, grateful for the ability to connect with his father. The staff has also felt a sense of satisfaction and joy in seeing the patients connect with their families during this critical time and has the added benefit of families being able to connect with the caregivers on the units.
Indeed, keeping connected has not only benefitted MSBI patients, but also their family members, as evident from the lovely thank you note received from a son of a patient, grateful for the ability to connect with his father (see below).
Click below to see photos of our staff and iPads in action.
