Telemedicine can be incredibly beneficial to rural communities, and a recent partnership between PMH Medical Center in Prosser and Kadlec Medical Center in Richland has introduced telewound care for PMH inpatients. The medical centers have partnered to utilize telemedicine in other areas of care, but the telewound care will become the first of its kind in the area.
Through the agreement, certified wound care nurses at Kadlec will provide real-time evaluations of PMH inpatients with wounds and offer remote consultations to help providers in Prosser best treat the wounds.
PMH nurses will use a telehealth cart with an advanced camera to record images of wounds, and then use electronic medical records to upload the images and send them to nurses at Kadlec in real time, allowing a swift delivery of care. The partnership allows wound care to continue at PMH while its nurses pursue wound care certification.
“We’ve had great success and feedback utilizing similar telestroke technology in our emergency department and also teledieticians for our Swing Bed patients” says PMH Medical Center Acute Care Director Marla Davis, RN. “This partnership provides our patients with the advanced, quality care they need without the stress, cost and time of travel; it’s a true benefit to our patients.”
