March 18, 2022 – UPMC is leveraging its clinical expertise and innovative technology to launch the first tele-Emergency Department (Tele-ED) in Pennsylvania at UPMC Kane in McKean County. In line with the Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines announced on March 2 to increase patient access to care through innovative delivery models, UPMC created a first-of-its kind in Pennsylvania rural health care approach that will allow access to excellent emergency medical care at UPMC Kane.
UPMC Kane is partnering with UPMC Hamot in Erie to create an emergency medicine collaboration using advanced telemedicine technology. Board-certified emergency medicine physicians located at UPMC Hamot, 94 miles away in Erie, partner with on-site, trained advanced practice providers (APPs) at UPMC Kane, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide the best care for all who seek it.
“Bedside care is delivered by physician assistants (PAs) and certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs) at UPMC Kane using advanced video, audio and examination technology to connect patients seamlessly and quickly with board-certified emergency medicine physicians at UPMC Hamot,” said Mark Papalia, UPMC Kane president. “Together, the APP and physician diagnose and care for the patient.”
UPMC Kane is an acute care hospital located in a remote, rural community with an average daily inpatient census of five to six hospitalized patients and approximately 6,000 total emergency department visits each year. UPMC Hamot is the advanced tertiary care regional hub for UPMC in northwest Pennsylvania and southwest New York caring for nearly 70,000 patients in the emergency department annually. UPMC Hamot provides high-level specialized care and is a Level II trauma center, the only accredited trauma center in the Erie region.
This innovation for rural health care delivery results from careful planning and training within the UPMC Kane transformation plan to improve rural health care and enhance access, as part of its enrollment in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model. As a participating hospital of the initiative, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) permitted UPMC Kane to pursue Tele-ED program development and launch in Pennsylvania in advance of the Commonwealth’s March 2 rural health guidelines announcement.
Alike to a Tele-ED, the tele-hospitalist program enhances and improves rural health care through a sustainable, vibrant and transformational new model of care.