UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital – Virtual Admission Nurses
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital noted an increase in staffing challenges, as well as decrease in clinical experience within its front-line nursing workforce. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital also recognized a high documentation burden for nurses and sought an innovative solution to address these issues.
As a result of the identified challenges and internal goals, the Virtual Admission Nurse program (VAN), a newly redesigned, virtual health care delivery model, was created to support nursing care in the acute care unit space.
The VAN program was designed to be operational seven days per week, from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. and the virtual admission nurse was tasked with completing admission documentation for all new admissions and transfers via an iPad, while also providing additional patient education regarding fall prevention and isolation precautions. This allowed bedside nurses to function at the top of their scope and greatly reducing their documentation burden.
VAN program successes include the following:
- VAN nurses completed approximately 120 admission assessments daily.
- Admission assessments performed by virtual admission nurses were completed more quickly (approximately 3.5 minutes faster).
- VAN nurses identified patients at high risk for injury (pressure injury, falls).
- VAN nurses targeted gaps in care that resulted in a timelier ordering of consults with improved discharge planning efforts.
- The VAN program provided higher quality care for UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital patients.
To learn more about the VAN program, please contact Amy Hassell, MSN, RN ([email protected]) at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital
