“Nursing is in crisis in America today. We have seen the devastating impact of the nursing shortage on quality of care and operating margins at a time of rising patient acuity,” said Corey Scurlock, Equum’s founder and CEO. “We cannot stand by and watch as the nurse staffing crisis hollows out clinical care in hospitals large and small.”

Scurlock cited recent evidence of the stress on nursing. The American Nurses Foundation’s recent COVID-19 Two-Year Impact Survey reported that 52% of nurses are leaving or considering leaving their jobs and 89% of them said that their organization is experiencing a staffing shortage. A 2021 study found a 28% spike in the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections and a 17% jump in inpatient falls in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

Blue Cirrus has designed telehealth programs for organizations large and small. As a respected thought leader, it educates on and advocates for telehealth across the country. Its staff of advisers, technicians, clinicians and project leaders are the most experienced in telehealth service delivery in the industry.

“We wanted to design a comprehensive program that recognizes the importance of nursing, that tele-RN is not a one-size-fits-all solution but a dynamic solution that supports quality, efficiency, patient flow, and nurse and patient satisfaction,” Scurlock said. “We know providers of care across the country are looking to telehealth maturity models as they begin to get a grasp of where they are going post-COVID and so short of RNs, so we want to hit the ground running. For that, we need Blue Cirrus.”

Equum brings over 200 years of acute telehealth delivery and implementation experience to the project, as well as clinical resources and workflows. Blue Cirrus brings its implementation and successful partner experience in telehealth to deliver a premium, tested and comprehensive program.

The tele-RN offering will not be a stand-alone product, but instead will build upon the Equum Portfolio of Acute Care Professional Clinical Services to deliver comprehensive virtual care services at a time when health systems are looking to design telehealth maturity models. The initiative encompasses design creation, staff modeling, roles and responsibilities, integrated clinical workflow process flows, performance and outcomes metrics.

“We look forward to our work with Equum. Blue Cirrus is focused on providing proven methodologies and added value to its clients. Developing the virtual nursing program is another way in which we can assist organizations with the real workforce challenges of today,” said Michelle Hager, the Managing Partner of Blue Cirrus. “It is exciting to dive into the fast-changing and challenging area of virtual nursing to deliver a premium and comprehensive program to the healthcare industry.”

During this years American Telemedicine Association Telehealth Awareness Week Equum Medical, Blue Cirrus and technology partner Caregility will present a collaborative webinar expanding on this thought leadership. Titled “Virtual Nursing and the Digitally Enabled Clinical Workforce of the Future,” registrants can learn more through this program on how to successfully design and integrate virtual care across the acute enterprise. Registration for the September 20^th session is available here: REGISTER

For more than 10 years, Equum’s telehealth-enabled acute care teams have addressed the challenges hospitals and health systems face when trying to fill gaps in coverage. Its flexible, customized approach helps clients improve the lives of on-site clinicians, extends patient care in specialty areas and offers program leadership. Equum enables hospitals and health systems to enhance care and serve more patients, while delivering a positive clinical, operational and financial impact. For more information, visit equummedical.com.

Blue Cirrus is the premier management consulting firm providing skilled advisers, technicians, clinicians and project leaders to develop and deploy virtual health programs. Blue Cirrus has created strategy and business planning, staffing, technology acquisition and initiative implementation throughout the continuum of care. It has worked with large health systems such as Intermountain Healthcare, Prisma Health and Adventist Health, as well as smaller providers, vendors and other organizations. For more go to blue-cirrus.com.

 

SOURCE Equum Medical