As health systems across the country face mounting staffing challenges and increasing patient demand, many are rethinking traditional models of care delivery. Two large U.S. healthcare organizations partnered with ExtendedCare and Iron Bow Technologies to implement scalable, innovative Virtual Nursing and Telesitting programs.
These organizations, each operating multiple hospitals and care facilities, are nationally recognized for delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. They serve diverse populations and have a strong focus on clinical excellence, workforce development, and technology adoption to improve care delivery outcomes.
The initiative has transformed how these hospitals support inpatient care; improving efficiency, enhancing safety, and alleviating pressure on bedside teams.
THE CHALLENGE
Both health systems featured in this case study manage large inpatient populations, but ongoing staffing shortages, particularly among nurses and support personnel, posed significant risks to patient care, staff well-being, and overall operational performance.
Key challenges included:
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Staffing Shortages: Night shifts, weekends, and high-acuity units were often understaffed, overburdening existing staff.
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Time Consuming Tasks: Nurses spent too much time on non-clinical tasks like admissions, discharges, education, and documentation, leaving less time for patient care.
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Patient Safety Risks: Limited availability of in-person sitters led to inconsistent monitoring of high-risk patients, increasing the chance of adverse events.
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Burnout and Turnover: High stress and fatigue among clinical staff resulted in burnout and higher turnover rates.
To address these issues, leadership recognized the need for a scalable care model to reduce staff strain, improve patient monitoring, and integrate seamlessly with current workflows and technology.
THE SOLUTION
To address these complex operational challenges, both health systems partnered with ExtendedCare and Iron Bow Technologies to design and deploy a comprehensive Virtual Nursing and Telesitting solution seamlessly integrated with existing EHR platforms. The approach was intentionally modular and scalable, allowing each organization to tailor the implementation to their unique staffing models, clinical priorities, and technology environments.
1. Virtual Nursing: Elevating Efficiency and Clinical Support
Using ExtendedCare’s robust telehealth platform, virtual RNs were integrated into daily inpatient operations to support non-emergent but essential workflows. These remote nurses played a key role in:
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Conducting virtual admissions and discharge processes, standardizing documentation and freeing up bedside teams.
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Delivering real-time patient education and follow-up, including medication counseling and care instructions, ensuring consistency and improving patient comprehension.
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Supporting rounding and safety checks, especially during overnight hours or across units with lower staff coverage.
2. Telesitting: Enhancing Safety Through Scalable Observation
ExtendedCare’s telesitting solution enabled remote monitoring of high-risk patients through secure, continuous video streams. Sitter staff, working from centralized hubs, could observe multiple patients simultaneously, alerting in-person care teams immediately if intervention was needed.
Key features included:
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Custom alarms, alerts and escalation protocols tailored to each patient’s risk level.
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Multi-patient view functionality to support efficient observation of 8 - 12 patients per sitter.
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Two-way communication that allowed virtual sitters to engage directly with patients, redirecting behavior or calming agitation before it escalated.
RESULTS & IMPACT
This health system achieved:
Scalability & Flexibility
The solution was deployed across multiple hospitals with minimal disruption to existing workflows, proving the flexibility of the ExtendedCare platform.
Improved Patient Safety
Telesitting enabled 24/7 observation of high-risk patients across multiple units without needing to deploy additional in-person staff.
Staff Relief & Retention
By offloading administrative and repetitive tasks to virtual teams, bedside nurses experienced lower stress levels and improved job satisfaction.
Operational Efficiency
Virtual nurses handled hundreds of routine workflows—such as admissions, discharges, and patient education sessions; each week, resulting in significant time savings for bedside staff.
LOOKING AHEAD
This multi-site deployment showcases the power of virtual care to strengthen inpatient operations in real-world, high-acuity settings. By embracing ExtendedCare’s integrated Virtual Nursing and Telesitting platform (delivered in partnership with Iron Bow), these health systems were able to modernize their care models, improve outcomes, and support their teams in delivering safer, more efficient care.