Your impact: How virtual health is saving lives in rural communities
Thanks to Foundation funding, even more resources are now available to ensure patients receive the care they need, when they need it most.
Nearly 30% of patients who visit the Stollery come from outside the Edmonton area.
For many of these families, traveling to the hospital can be challenging—especially for children with complex care needs. Fortunately, virtual care has made remarkable progress in recent years.
In 2023, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation began fundraising for the creation of the Stollery Centre for Excellence in Virtual Health. The goal: to enhance and expand innovative, pediatric virtual health solutions across rural and northern Alberta and beyond.
Those donor dollars were put to work right away and recently, a medical consultation from a rural Alberta hospital to the Stollery Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) team demonstrated the life-saving potential of integrated virtual health technology and enabling Stollery care everywhere through virtual connections.
A phone consultation was initiated to discuss a young child with an emergency medical condition. The referral site hospital was already providing ventilation assistance to the patient, and the Stollery PICU team suggested switching to a video platform for a more thorough assessment. Upon initiating the video call, the Stollery PICU team supported the referral site team through the resuscitation process in real-time, providing step-by-step instructions and support. The video platform enabled quick and efficient communication, saving valuable minutes and the lift of the child.
During the resuscitation, the Stollery PICU intensivist spoke directly with the child’s family, explaining the situation and care plan in detail. This timely communication helped the family understand the seriousness of the situation and provided valuable emotional support. The PICU team also clarified medication orders with the referral site’s registered nurse, ensuring correct doses were administered, and worked with the site a physician to discuss contingency plans while awaiting transport to the Stollery.
The power of virtual care was evident when the video call allowed the Stollery PICU team to see the child’s condition and to provide emergent clinical consult support and guidance. The video ensured everyone — from the family to the multidisciplinary teams — was aligned and understood what needed to be done. The virtual video consultation enabled real time teamwork from a distance to secure the life of a child and enabled conditions for best health outcome for the child.
This case highlights the value of real-time visual consultation and underscores the profound impact of our virtual health initiative in the child’s care and recovery. With your ongoing support, the Stollery Centre for Excellence in Virtual Health will continue their efforts to increase virtual care in rural and northern communities with tactics like these valuable video consultations.
The future of kids’ health involves getting kids access to care wherever they are, through seamlessly integrated virtual care. You can continue to support impactful projects like the Stollery Centre for Excellence in Virtual Health by donating today.
