HCA HealthONE Virtual Network

For over 18 years, rural communities that lack on-site neurologists have had access to trained specialists at HCA HealthONE Swedish and Wesley Medical Center via the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network with the goal of keeping patients in their home communities. HCA HealthONE Swedish was the first hospital in Colorado to be certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for achieving excellent patient outcomes and care. Wesley Medical Center is a Primary Stroke Center designated by The Joint Commission, meaning we meet and surpass the national standards for stroke patient outcomes. Wesley Medical Center was also a 2018 “Gold Plus” award recipient of the American heart Association and American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®–Stroke program.

Every second counts in minimizing damage from a stroke, so our neurologists are on call 24 hours, seven days a week and respond to alerts within minutes to assist on-site providers with diagnosis, treatment, and medication recommendations.

The viability and importance of the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network is evidenced by the success of its stroke program. In 2023, over 8,400 stroke telemedicine consults were conducted with our network partners. Our rural rospital Tele-Stroke retention rate was over 80% in 2023. Patient retention helps our partner sites minimize transportation costs and improve patient care and satisfaction.

Bringing artificial intelligence to stroke care

Synchronized stroke care reduces time to notification of suspected large vessel occlusions (LVOs) and intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs). As the region’s leading provider of Tele-Stroke services, the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network provides 24/7 stroke neurology coverage to more than 65 hospitals in a four-state region. With the use of artificial intelligence, we can automatically detect suspected LVOs and ICHs, providing earlier identification of stroke and helping improve time to therapeutic intervention.

What is A.I. LVO/ICH detection?

Artificial intelligence is used to automatically detect suspected LVOs and ICHs on CTA imaging and directly alert the on-call stroke specialists about potentially treatable patients.

A.I. detection reduced time to notification for suspected LVO and ICH strokes by an average of 52 minutes* and 38 minutes**, respectively

How does it work?

Stroke-protocoled CTA images from remote hospitals are sent directly to the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network where an advanced deep learning algorithm automatically analyzes the images on a HIPAA-compliant cloud.

When a suspected LVO or ICH is found, an alert is sent to the on-call stroke specialists where they are able to review images using a mobile viewer. 90% of alerts are reviewed by the intended specialist within 5 minutes***.

What are the benefits?

Automated detection could help identify more suspected LVOs and provide earlier notification to the stroke specialists, reducing time to therapeutic treatment and ensuring that only appropriate patients are transferred. Automatic AI detects suspected acute and chronic hemorrhage down to 1 ml. Accurate volume measurements of brain bleeds are crucial for assessing the severity of cases, monitoring progression, and planning treatment strategies**.

As a part of the H1VN/WCVN, our partner facilities can provide some of the most advanced stroke care to their communities.

*1 FDA De Novo DEN170073, Core Lab Study, 2 Center, n=44, Sensitivity 87.8%, Specificity 89.6%. 2017.

** viz.ai/hemorrhage

*** viz.ai/large-vessel-occlusion

Neurologists from the HCA HealthONE Swedish Neuro Network are available 24/7/365 to provide consults in the emergency department for such emergent neurologic conditions as, but not limited to: first time seizure, status epilepticus, severe headache, neuro muscular emergencies, subarachnoid hemorrhage, altered mental status, sub acute stroke.

There is a significant shortage of mental health resources in our region, especially in rural areas. HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network's goal is to support that need with its Tele-Psychiatry program. Partner sites can request consults 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A psychiatrist performs a full psychiatric evaluation through telemedicine with patients. These patients receive a rapid psychiatric evaluation and inpatient-level of medication intervention. Our psychiatry providers assist on-site providers with diagnosis, short- and long-term treatment recommendations, and medication guidance. In conjunction with hospital-based resources, the Tele-Psychiatry program decreases the wait time for inpatient behavioral health bed placement.

Licensed clinicians employed by HealthONE’s Crisis Assessment Team (HCAT) are available 24/7/365 through the HCA HealthONE Mental Health and Wellness Center. HCAT will evaluate patients at partner locations to: complete level of care assessments, recommend safety of discharge, help determine need for transfer to an inpatient behavioral health unit, assist with safety planning, provide resources for patient follow-up, and refer to outpatient clinics when appropriate.

Tele-Behavioral Health support is available to our partners for patients they are caring for in the Emergency Department or Medical Floor.  There is no limitation on a patient being assessed by HCAT as we support children, adolescents, seniors, women and gereral adult wellness needs. HCAT works closely with facilities across the state that have capability and capacity to help care for patients with inpatient placement dispositions.  The Mental Health and Wellness Center in Aurora also offers inpatient mental health services.

As one of HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network’s fastest-growing service lines, our clinicians help maneuver your patients to the next level of care as quickly and safely as possible. In 2023, over 10,000 behavioral health telemedicine consults were conducted with our network partners.

The Tele-Neuro Hospitalist program is the next best thing to having a neurologist rounding at your hospital every day. This program will help your facility keep tPA patients and provide a layer of support to your onsite clinicians. Partnering with Blue Sky Neurology, the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Tele-Neuro Hospitalist program brings a virtual neurologist to your hospital and allows for dedicated time spent rounding on neurology inpatients at your facility.

Many neurological conditions requiring inpatient care need assessment and treatment from an experienced neurologist in an inpatient setting. The Tele-Neuro Hospitalist program enhances and builds on your facility's’current capabilities. By supplementing current neurologists, we can help you retain patients in your facility, provide enhanced continuity of care, and have a significant impact on your bottom line.

EEG tests are used to help diagnose brain conditions such as brain tumors, sleep disorders, epilepsy and other seizure disorders. They can detect abnormalities in your brain waves and electrical activity by using small, metal disks called electrodes. The HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Tele-EEG program offers both adult and pediatric EEG testing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s at Presbyterian St. Luke’s is the largest hospital in the Rocky Mountain region with a Level IV NICU program - the highest level of care available. The Tele-Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) program provides critical care to newborns who are ill or premature. Our Tele-NICU providers, all of whom are board certified neonatologists or hospitalists, provide evaluations that include: short and long term treatment recommendations, medication recommendations, and next level of care recommendations. They provide on-call coverage 24/7 and respond within minutes of receiving an alert. When higher level of care is necessary, our providers work in conjunction with the HCA HealthONE AirLife Neonatal Transport Team who can rapidly transport the baby to our facility for expedited care.