AdventHealth is connecting hospitalized patients and families with virtual visits, including coronavirus patients.

To curb the spread of COVID-19, hospitals across the country have placed strict limits on visits to hospitalized patients. Visitation restrictions have been troublesome for COVID-19 patients, with families unable to see their loved ones for many days or weeks, and seriously ill patients dying without contact with their families.

For COVID-19 patients, virtual visits at AdventHealth have generated significant benefits, says Pam Guler, MHA, vice president and chief experience officer at the Altamonte Springs, Florida-based health system. “This has been meaningful for our patients, their families, and our caregivers. Many caregivers have told stories of creating a moment that has deep meaning not only for families and patients but also has touched their hearts.”

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AdventHealth features nearly 50 hospitals in nine states. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical visits to hospitalized patients have been limited to a single loved one in the case of an end-of-life situation, childbirth, and a child in the hospital.

VIRTUAL VISIT BASICS

AdventHealth recently launched virtual visits for hospitalized patients with the distribution of 1,000 Chromebooks and some iPads throughout the health system’s hospital campuses, Guler says. The cost of the initiative was minimal because the Chromebooks were already in hand for another project, which has been delayed, she says. “The investment has been more about helping our team members to understand what they need to do.”

With help from the health system’s information technology staff, Guler has a team of 65 experience leaders who facilitate the virtual visits. In one recent week, the health system conducted 1,350 virtual visits. “Our information technology staff loaded the Chromebooks in a way to make it as easy as possible to use Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, and Facetime. We are using Google Hangouts quite a bit for video chats.”

CORONAVIRUS PATIENT VIRTUAL VISITS

AdventHealth has put protocols in place for hospitalized COVID-19 patients to have virtual visits with loved ones, including for end-of-life situations, Guler says.

There are three primary considerations for virtual visits with all COVID-19 patients:

• To limit the number of people in a patient’s room for infection control, a bedside caregiver in full personal protective equipment brings a Chromebook or other device into the room.
• The device can be held by the bedside caregiver or placed on a bedside table if the family requests privacy for the virtual visit.
• After the virtual visit, a disinfectant is used to sterilize the Chromebook or other devices.

The protocols for end-of-life situations are more involved, she says. “We have to facilitate calls more when there is an end-of-life scenario and the patient is not able to be an active participant.”

The first step is for an experience leader to contact the family and to see whether they want to have a virtual visit. Then the family is asked whether they want to have a hospital chaplain included in the virtual visit.

Once a virtual visit has been arranged, an experience leader initiates the call to the family and hands off the device to a bedside caregiver outside the patient’s room. In most cases, the bedside caregiver holds the device, so the family gets a full view of the patient.

Although ICU bedside caregivers are experienced in working with the families of dying patients, they have received training to help them facilitate virtual visits, Guler says.

“This is a very deep and meaningful situation and interaction, and we have shared some words the caregivers might say. They may ask the family whether there is anything they can do to be the family’s hands as the family is talking with their loved one, such as, ‘Can I touch your loved one’s hand?’ They have protective equipment on, but they can be the hands of the family. The caregivers try to do anything they can to bring a human touch to this virtual experience.”

Many family members can participate in an end-of-life virtual visit, she says.

“In one end-of-life situation, we had 15 family members on the virtual chat, along with their family pastor. The patient could not respond, but the family was able to say some last words. They said how much they loved the patient. Their pastor prayed with them. It was deeply meaningful and facilitated by a caregiver who held the device. In that situation, the caregiver did not need to say anything.”

THE NEW NORMAL

AdventHealth plans to continue providing virtual visits for hospitalized patients after the COVID-19 crisis is over, Guler says.

“We want to continue virtual visits in the future. Even in a non-COVID-19 scenario, we often have patients who have family across the country. With this platform now in place, contact does not just have to be through telephone. We are already exploring ways that we can have virtual visits in the future in a non-COVID-19 world.”

—Adapted from “How to Use Virtual Visits to Connect Coronavirus Patients With Loved Ones,” HealthLeaders, by Christopher Cheney, May 1, 2020.

We know chapters are moving forward with their own mentoring programs, but we want to share a valuable opportunity for your members. The Leadership Mentoring Network is a newly developed automated online platform that will support ACHE’s commitment to leadership and career development. The first cohort will launch in September.

All mentoring relationships will be supported via a six-month development timeline with a formal match confirmation, ongoing learning and development goals and a final evaluation process. The LMN allows for user flexibility, recognizing that a participant’s role may vacillate between mentor and mentee depending upon their own personal career development circumstance.

Mentoring relationships will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Starting June 1, members who have been dropped for nonpayment of their dues can pay 50 percent to reinstate. This great deal will last until Aug. 31, 2020.

Take the next important step for your career by advancing to Fellow status benefits your professional goals and strengthens the healthcare management profession. The Wisconsin chapter encourages you to submit your Fellow applications with our Board of Governors Exam fee waiver offer (a savings of $225), which has been extended through July 31. Fellow applicants must submit their completed Fellow application, $250 application fee and all required documents, such as their references and organization chart, by July 31.

Visit ache.org/FACHE to learn more and apply online.

Thank you for the work you are doing in your healthcare organizations and communities to manage the impact of COVID-19 and take care of patients. We are well aware these are extraordinary times for you as leaders. We hope you continue to leverage your professional and chapter-leader network to share ideas and learn from each other.

Our “COVID-19 Series With Front-Line Leaders” webinars continue to be well received by our members. Registration for and recordings of all these sessions will be available as soon as possible following the live webinar at ache.org/COVID, along with numerous other resources, including a listing of members in the news.

We’ve compiled information on the most frequently asked questions from members. Learn more about plans for education, recertification and other areas.

Regent

ACHE is beginning the election process for new Regents to serve on its Council of Regents, the legislative body that represents ACHE’s more than 48,000 members. Serving as an elected official is a unique opportunity that allows you to exercise your leadership ability, share innovative ideas and act on behalf of ACHE members.

All Fellows who wish to run for election must submit a letter of intent to elections@ache.org by Friday, Aug. 21. For full details on the Regent areas open for election and requirements to run please visit the Official Notice for the 2020-2021 Council of Regents Elections.

Regent-at-Large

The ACHE Board of Governors is calling for applications to serve as Regent-at-Large in Districts 2, 3 and 4, beginning in March 2021. ACHE Fellows are eligible for Regent-at-Large vacancies within their district. The goal of the Board of Governors in appointing Regents-at-Large is to diversify the Council of Regents. The purpose of the Regent-at-Large is to promote diversity in the governance of ACHE with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability.

For further details please visit the Call for Nominations page. The deadline for applications is Friday, Aug. 21.

We know you are making decisions at a rapid pace as things change in the world and in your own homes. One decision you can make now that can make a profound impact on the future of healthcare leadership is keeping the Fund for Healthcare Leadership as your charitable contribution. Now more than ever, donating to the Fund assists healthcare leaders who are making a difference during this pandemic.

Contributions to the Fund wholly support the Thomas C. Dolan Diversity Program and scholarships to ACHE’s Senior Executive and Executive Programs. Last year, 21 individuals received scholarships for these programs. Currently, there is a cohort of six individuals participating in the 2020 Thomas C. Dolan Diversity Program.

Learn more and donate today.

As Wisconsin’s first, four-year institution of higher learning, Carroll University provides a learning community that supports each student’s passion and purpose.  As a student in the MBA program, you can specialize in healthcare administration, business analytics, or business management.

• In healthcare administration, you will learn to address the particular demands of information management in healthcare settings; navigate the ethical and policy landscapes of the healthcare industry; measure quality of care, patient satisfaction, and operations; and solve finance and budgeting issues that can arise within healthcare settings.
• In business analytics, you will learn to support data-driven decision making by harnessing big data for visualizations, dashboards, and predictive analytics.  You’ll learn to effectively communicate the story of the data through actionable insights that can be used to address emerging business challenges.
• In business management, you’ll get a broad view of the managerial role in an organization.  You’ll learn about the many facets of a company a manager must consider, such as the economic applications, the marketing plan, the financial plan, and supply chain disruptions that occur in a changing business environment

Carroll University’s MBA program offers flexibility to choose your path for balancing work, education, and life.  Small class sizes provide connections with other working professionals, professors, and industry thought leaders. Accelerate career growth by immediately applying knowledge in your daily life.

Become a pioneer.  Enroll in Carroll University’s MBA program.

For more information about Carroll’s MBA program, join us for our Graduate Open House on July 22, 2020 (https://www.carrollu.edu/admissions/graduate/open-house) or contact us via the Carroll University website (https://www.carrollu.edu/academics/business/master-of-business-administration).

ACHE is beginning the election process for new Regents to serve on its Council of Regents, the legislative body that represents ACHE’s more than 48,000 members. Serving as an elected official is a unique opportunity that allows you to exercise your leadership ability, share innovative ideas and act on behalf of ACHE members.

All Fellows who wish to run for election must submit a letter of intent to elections@ache.org by Aug. 21. The letter of intent must include a current business title, business address, email address and telephone number. If you submit your letter of intent and have not received confirmation of its receipt by Aug. 28, contact Caitlin E. Stine at (312) 424-9324 or cstine@ache.org.

Elections will be held in the following jurisdictions:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Hawaii/Pacific
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Texas—Northern
• Utah
• Wisconsin