May 19, 2022 – Intermountain Cassia Regional Hospital is launching Pediatric TeleHealth Consults, which allows for 24/7 access to specialists at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
The program uses video to connect doctors and nurses at Primary Children’s with Cassia Regional caregivers and patients. The program at Cassia Regional makes it possible for doctors in the emergency room to have instant access to pediatric trauma and critical care specialists who can help diagnose complex cases.
“All children should have access to the best experts in healthcare regardless of where they live,” said Bowen Harris, RN, MBA, nurse administrator at Intermountain Cassia Regional Hospital. “This technology allows us to bring those experts right into our community when we need them, especially during an emergency.”
The telehealth program can be used in a variety of ways, including provider-to-provider consultations to ask about a certain case, or bringing in a video cart so that specialists at Primary Children’s can see the child and meet with the patient and family directly.
A pediatric telecritical care nurse can also tune in virtually to help answer any questions for the nurses on site who administer the treatment to the child.
The goal is to give children timely access to the best care possible while staying closer to home. By having access to specialists any time of day, Cassia Regional will partner with Primary Children’s to provide excellent care and avoid transfers to other hospitals which can be hours away.
“Pediatric cases can be harder to manage because a child’s body is different from adults, and this ensures that we can speak to highly-trained specialists any time of day,” said Harris.
The pediatric telehealth program is part of Intermountain Healthcare’s “Primary Promise” vision to create the nation’s model health system for children.
This multi-faceted plan and investment of more than $500 million in children’s health will be shared by Intermountain Healthcare and community philanthropic support through an emerging campaign organized by Intermountain Foundation.
“Pediatric TeleHealth allows us to answer the call for any child living in Intermountain West who needs more specialized help,” said Katy Welkie, RN, MBA, CEO of Primary Children’s Hospital and vice president of Intermountain Children’s Health. “Bringing together emergency teams and specialists through telehealth helps kids get the right care, at the right place, at the right time, and puts the Child First and Always in all that we do.”