Technology is at the forefront of UHS Wilson Main Tower

When the Wilson Main Tower opens this spring, it will serve patients with a level of healthcare technology unprecedented in the Southern Tier. From the rooftop helipad to the bedside of each private room, beneficial technology will play a key role in the way UHS is revolutionizing care, service and the patient experience.

Each private room will feature a system of digital displays called pCare. These 43-inch screens display a wide variety of information for patients, their families and the physicians, nurses and other practitioners helping them heal. The screens display and populate real-time data via Epic, an electronic health record management software. pCare can also feature crucial details for providers and nurses, plus listing the patient’s preferred language and details the patient might forget, like visiting hours or the names of their care team members.

These integrated pCare televisions also give patients the ability to watch shows, movies and educational videos about their medical needs and recovery. “If a patient has a new diagnosis, a nurse can line up videos to teach them about their new diagnosis or the procedure that they’re going to have,” said Stephanie Jester, RN, director of Nursing at UHS Hospitals. While some patients prefer to read a brochure about their condition, others comprehend better if they have an audiovisual presentation, and that’s one place where pCare comes in.

Kara Hines, RN, chief applications officer at UHS, participated in the management of the electronic health record initiative and was involved in acquiring the digital communication system. She shared that, in some hospitals, patient information is handwritten on a conventional whiteboard, which can cause miscommunication due to difficult-to-read handwriting or accidental erasure, or there can be irrelevant or outdated information that isn’t updated.

The new pCare digital system frees healthcare practitioners from having to write, rewrite or decipher important data, and does so instantly. Additionally, digital door signs are placed outside the patient’s room to communicate information to staff and update details automatically. Now, instead of the caregiver walking into the room, not knowing that the person is in isolation, for example, pCare will automatically update information so everyone’s aware of the notes in real-time.

The new digital display system will enhance the patient’s recovery by encouraging family involvement as well. To engage the patient and family with the plan of care, the electronic whiteboards will include goals. If a patient has goals to achieve before an anticipated discharge date — being able to walk a certain number of steps unaided, for example — those goals are displayed. The technology reinforces the nursing staff’s guidance of the patient and, coupled with the educational videos, can show family members how best to support the patient during their hospital stay and afterwards.

The design of the new Wilson Main Tower also incorporates a number of other high-tech features that sets the facility apart as a futuristic medical resource for the community.

In conjunction with the opening of the tower, an Ion robotic bronchoscopy system has been delivered to UHS Wilson Medical Center to be used in the early detection of lung cancer. This device performs robotic-assisted bronchoscopies that can reach all 18 segments of the lungs. The system features an ultra-thin catheter that allows navigation far into the peripheral lung, enhancing reach, stability and precision.

Patients benefit from this technology by receiving a diagnosis and additional lung cancer staging on the same day, instead of having a biopsy one day and an additional procedure at a later date. UHS is the first institution in the community to offer robotic-assisted bronchoscopy.

The tower project took another leap forward with the recent delivery of a new inpatient magnetic resonance imaging scanner to UHS Wilson Medical Center. Critical to the patient services offered as a result of the tower construction, the new MRI, a Siemens Sola (1.5) Tesla, is able to scan patients faster and more efficiently than previous equipment. The inpatient MRI operates six days a week, with on-call staff also available outside of regular hours.

New technologies like those being adopted as part of the Wilson Main Tower represent an extraordinary investment on the part of UHS, infusing the patient experience with greater efficiency, communication and support for the healing process. UHS is committed to keeping technology at the forefront of clinical developments and using a wide range of advances to support care, service and high-quality outcomes, in the new tower and beyond.