{"id":233817,"date":"2025-10-18T11:48:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/233817\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T11:48:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:48:18","slug":"providence-adopts-virtual-nursing-and-a-i-to-enhance-care-and-cut-wait-times-in-st-joseph-hospitals-emergency-department-lost-coast-outpost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/233817\/","title":{"rendered":"Providence Adopts Virtual Nursing and A.I. to Enhance Care and Cut Wait Times in St. Joseph Hospital’s Emergency Department | Lost Coast Outpost"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Emergency Department entrance at Providence St. Joseph Hospital. | Photos and video by Ryan Burns.<\/p>\n

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Michelle Flynn has been a nurse in Providence St. Joseph Hospital\u2019s emergency department for almost a decade. The environment inside, amid the often desperate patients and hustling staff, can be described as \u201cso much chaos,\u201d she said in an interview earlier today. <\/p>\n

In recent months, though, Flynn has been able to spend a lot more time with each patient, answering their questions, explaining their labs, even helping them make appointments or arrange family visits. <\/p>\n

Ironically, perhaps, this increased level of personal engagement has been facilitated through cutting-edge technology that takes her out of the hospital entirely \u2014 physically, anyway. Working from home, Flynn appears in patient rooms virtually, her face popping up on a wall-mounted TV screen while she interacts with patients via secure, two-way audio and visual, enabled through a remote-controlled high-resolution camera.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what that looks like:<\/p>\n

Nurse Michelle Flynn demonstrates the virtual nursing technology now in use at Providence St. Joseph Hospital.<\/p>\n

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Back in July, St. Joseph Hospital became the first Providence-owned medical facility to launch a virtual nursing model and hybrid approach in its Emergency Department. This pilot program combines telehealth with traditional bedside care, an approach that\u2019s part of a broader tech-forward strategy that includes adoption of A.I.-empowered documentation and a\u00a0\u201cPhysician in Triage\u201d model<\/a>\u00a0that is streamlining workflows while enabling more patient-centered care, according to staff.<\/p>\n


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Hansen<\/p>\n

Kristen Hansen, director of nursing for St. Joseph\u2019s emergency department, told a group of reporters this morning that the virtual nursing program has been a hit with both patients and staff. Participating nurses do their rounds virtually, beaming into patient rooms to handle documentation, assess their pain levels, answer questions, facilitate language interpreter services when necessary \u2014 in short, handling tasks that help to free up in-person medical staffers for direct care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can help with isolation patients, so the [other] nurses don\u2019t have to go into the rooms as often, or violent patients with behavioral health [issues],\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n

The program is also helping Providence to retain some of its most experienced nurses in Humboldt County. Working in the Emergency Department can be very physically and emotionally demanding, Hansen said. \u201cSo this [virtual nursing program] gives an opportunity for us to keep those really high-performing nurses who are highly experienced involved in emergency care even when it\u2019s difficult for them, physically or emotionally, to keep doing that work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology is allowing these nurses to reconnect with the most meaningful aspects of their work, Hansen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone gets into nursing because they want to take care of patients, and then you find that so much of your time is a checklist of things. You have to document; you have to complete [administrative] tasks; you don\u2019t get to spend that time connecting with patients as much,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe virtual nurses all express how much they love the opportunity to connect with their patients and actually spend the time doing the work that they got into nursing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patients have been much happier, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur patient experience metrics have gone through the roof \u2014 some of the highest they\u2019ve been in years,\u201d Hansen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nurses in the program work from home on special Providence-issued computers built to comply with all HIPAA privacy regulations. The in-room cameras are all turned off and aimed away from patients until a virtual nurse beams in and \u201cknocks,\u201d then asks permission to \u201center,\u201d meaning turn the camera around and engage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, for the most part, they say, \u2018I guess so,\u2019\u201d Flynn told reporters from her position on one of the wall-mounted TVs. Referring back to her description of the pandemonium that often overtakes the Emergency Department, Flynn said, \u201cBeing a virtual nurse? We\u2019re like the calm in the chaos. \u2026 I\u2019m able to go in and, like, talk with them for as long as they\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Predictably, some patients are a bit taken aback during their initial interactions with a virtual nurse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very, like, \u2018Oh, this is weird,\u2019\u201d Flynn said. \u201cBut then, by the end of it, they\u2019re like, \u2018This is amazing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynn was likewise a bit hesitant about the new approach at first. She wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d like appearing remotely, but she said serving in this new role allows her to spend 20 or 30 minutes talking to individual patients. <\/p>\n

\u201cBy doing this, I\u2019m able to go on their chart and reassure them,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve made appointments for patients that needed [them]; I have called family members. It\u2019s very personal and it\u2019s very, I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s meaningful. I actually really do enjoy doing this, and I feel like patients do as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, St. Joseph Hospital has started using A.I. assistants to help with documentation, which saves medical staff even more time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Below is a press release from Providence with more information:<\/p>\n

Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka enhances care delivery and reduces wait times with new innovations in the Emergency Department <\/p>\n

Eureka, Calif. \u2014 Patients arriving at the Emergency Department at Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka, a Level III Trauma Center, are now being seen on average in less than ten minutes of their arrival, thanks to a series of groundbreaking innovations designed to enhance the care experience, improve efficiency, and support bedside teams. <\/p>\n

On July 17, St. Joseph Hospital Eureka became Providence\u2019s first Emergency Department to launch a virtual nursing model and hybrid approach that blends telehealth support with traditional bedside care. This pilot program is part of a broader strategy that also includes adoption of AI technology by physicians and utilization of the Physician in Triage model to streamline workflows and enable more patient-centered care. \u201c<\/p>\n

These innovations are transforming how we deliver emergency care,\u201d said Kristen Hansen, director of nursing, Emergency. \u201cPatients are being seen faster, receiving more personalized attention, and our caregivers are feeling more supported than ever.\u201d <\/p>\n

Virtual nurses support ED teams <\/p>\n

Each Emergency Department room is equipped with a mounted TV and camera, allowing virtual nurses to assist patients remotely via secure two-way audio and video. With a patient\u2019s consent, family members or advocates can also join calls from outside the hospital.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Virtual nurses do not replace bedside nurses, they provide supplemental support handling key tasks such as admissions, discharge preparation, medication reconciliation, and patient education, freeing up bedside teams to focus on direct care.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

One virtual nurse, Matthew Stevens, shared how the model is reshaping the patient experience: <\/p>\n

\u201cVirtual nursing allows us to return to the fundamentals of nursing, like being present, listening, educating, and advocating. In our fast-paced environment, virtual nurses can help patients feel seen and supported, while also relieving bedside caregivers of tasks like coordinating with outside facilities or facilitating interpreter-supported video calls. It\u2019s a collaborative approach that truly enhances care.\u201d <\/p>\n

Patients are already noticing the difference. Vanessa Anderson, who recently visited the ED, shared her experience: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe virtual nurse made sure I had everything I needed because they were busy; the emergency room was packed! The bedside nurse isn\u2019t having to run around from room to room, making life easier. I was happy with my overall experience.\u201d <\/p>\n

Artificial Intelligence and Physician in Triage streamlines workflows\u00a0 <\/p>\n

St. Joseph Hospital Eureka also utilizes an AI assistant that securely captures patient-physician conversations and automatically converts them into notes for delivery within Providence\u2019s electronic health record in real-time. Since implementation, the ambient tool has significantly reduced administrative burdens, allowing providers to spend more of their time focused on their patients at the bedside. <\/p>\n

In addition, the hospital now utilizes a Physician in Triage model, placing a physician at the front of the emergency department workflow, allowing patients to be assessed and treated more quickly upon arrival.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Together, these innovations are helping St. Joseph Hospital Eureka deliver faster, smarter, and more compassionate emergency care. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building this together,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cThe response from our caregivers and patients has been overwhelmingly positive. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape the future of health care delivery.\u201d <\/p>\n

St. Joseph Hospital Eureka is proud to help lead these efforts for the broader Providence health system and welcomes feedback from the community as the pilot continues to evolve.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Emergency Department entrance at Providence St. Joseph Hospital. | Photos and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-233817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}