Inside Atrium's 'virtual hospital' plan
Inside Atrium's 'virtual hospital' plan
Plus: New photo essay series launched; Brad Panovich furloughed but valiantly talked us through tornado warning; N.C. leads the nation in 'quarantine fatigue'
Today is Monday, April 27, 2020. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
If you like what you see, please forward to a friend.
Need to subscribe? Sign up for free here (charlotteledger.substack.com). A paid subscription, starting at $9/month, gives you access to all articles and helps build smarter original, local news in Charlotte. Details here.
Nearly 400 Covid-19 patients monitored at home in new Atrium program; future of medicine?
To relieve pressure on Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center and its other hospitals, Atrium started a “virtual hospital” program five weeks ago in which patients recover at home and are closely monitored. The program has nearly 400 Covid patients, Atrium says.
by Tony Mecia
One of the more remarkable yet least-remarked-upon aspects of the local medical response to the coronavirus has been the quick transformation of Charlotte’s big hospital systems.
The pandemic has forced businesses of all sizes to alter their approaches, like dine-in restaurants converting to take-out. But change is notoriously more difficult in large organizations, which are often burdened by bureaucratic decision-making. And the local hospital systems are huge: Atrium Health is the Charlotte area’s largest employer, and Novant Health is No. 5.
Yet in a matter of mere weeks, they overhauled major aspects of their operations. They cut out elective surgeries, added hospital beds, beefed up telemedicine, reshuffled staff and set up mobile testing centers. Their estimates on the number and timing of coronavirus patients appear to have missed the mark — badly — but there’s a widespread recognition within each hospital system that their organizations moved with urgency to respond to the crisis.
One of the more intriguing moves was Atrium’s efforts to establish what it is calling a “virtual hospital.” The idea is that instead of having coronavirus patients recover in brick-and-mortar hospitals, they can instead recuperate in their homes, with vital signs monitored remotely and regular check-ins with doctors and nurses.
The Ledger spoke with Dr. Stephanie Murphy, medical director of Atrium’s transition services, about the program — which as of the middle of last week had nearly 400 Covid patients throughout Atrium’s network in North and South Carolina and Georgia. Atrium has established the program in just the last five weeks.
On the idea behind the virtual hospital: “We know a majority of patients have symptoms that actually don’t result in hospitalization. But they needed an enhanced level of care. … At the same time, we knew we needed to do this differently to help manage the possible surge we could be seeing with this illness. … We’re trying very hard to help avoid hospitalization, but we’re also trying to help with the capacity by discharging patients sooner from the hospital.”
It required the teamwork of several different divisions: “It ended up being an amazing partnership that came together quickly. … The biggest key here is we created a model to manage our patients in a new and innovative way.”
How it works: The “virtual hospital” has two “floors” — the acute floor, and the observation floor.
The acute floor, which had about 30 patients as of last week, is for patients who need more advanced treatments. Healthcare workers monitor vital signs remotely: Patients wear blood pressure cuffs, which transmit blood pressure levels, and pulse oximeters, which clip to a finger and measure oxygen levels in the blood. Thermometers check for fevers. Patients receive a daily in-person visit from a mobile medical team and get called twice a day for check-ins.
The observation floor, which had about 350 patients as of last week, is for patients who require less attention. Healthcare workers check in daily by phone, and patients can use a mobile app to monitor symptoms and have questions answered.
Patients can move between the virtual floors depending on their symptoms. They can also move to and from actual hospitals when needed.
“What we try to do with remote monitoring is if a patient does end up needing hospitalization, we try to get them directly admitted so they don’t have to go through the emergency department, and we try to have them admitted before something bad happens to them,” Murphy said.
The reaction from patients: “I think our patients really do enjoy it. Every now and then, people wonder if they’re going to be OK in a different care location. But the level of support we provide them helps overcome that concern quickly.”
On how it works with insurance: “That is something we are working on. With the Covid-19 crisis, I think a lot of insurance companies and of course the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are starting to recognize different types of care and different levels of care as being vital to our ability in being able to manage a pandemic.”
On the future of virtual hospitals: “We started it for the Covid-19 patient population. We all recognize that as healthcare is changing, this will likely be something we hope to continue into the future.”
Who’s ready for a photo essay?
We like words. But sometimes they’re inadequate to describe the depth of things that happen.
So in these unbelievable times we are living through, The Ledger is teaming up with The Biscuit to present images of neighborhoods and communities across Charlotte through the eyes (and lenses) of local photographers. The Biscuit is the newsletter of Charlotte Is Creative, the organization founded by Tim Miner and Matt Olin that puts on Creative Mornings and other events and programs that nurture Charlotte’s creative side.
The Ledger and The Biscuit might be like the Felix and Oscar of Charlotte e-newsletters, but we both want what’s best for the city and share a commitment to telling the story of Charlotte in this challenging period.
In our new weekly series, “Visions of the Not Normal,” we’ll feature photos from different photographers from different parts of Charlotte. This week’s photographer is Heather Liebler, who shares a gallery of shots she took over the last few weeks.
We’re including a few here. For the full gallery, check out Charlotte Is Creative’s website.
“2020 Graduation Photo”: A generation has lost its senior celebrations. No prom, no graduation, no yearbook signing. At South Mecklenburg High, this is my senior, and this is her memory of her senior year.
“Heroes”: The strange celebration that has popped up in front of Atrium Health Pineville to say thank you to the amazing workers that are risking everything to help keep people safe and healthy every day.
“Carry On”: Creative Mornings CLT cannot be kept down. A history-making Zoom meeting for April on PURPOSE pushed everyone’s creativity to new levels. Zoom is going to be a new norm for all of us long after this historic event has passed.
“Solo”: Image taken at Camp North End. It was just sitting there with NO ONE around. I was struck by the shadow and the aloneness of the chair in an area that is so vast and usually so populated.
“For the Church”: A cul-de-sac in Park Crossing was converted to a stations of the cross for Easter. It’s become a place for friends and neighbors to come and hang a ribbon for what they are thankful for. Mason ties a purple ribbon to say thank you to the church with his mom’s help.
—TM
Today’s supporting sponsors are TechnikOne:
… and T.R. Lawing Realty:
Brad Panovich furloughed but still delivers the weather
Severe storms barreled through the region Saturday night, and The Ledger did what thousands do when the tornado sirens go off and the winds whip — we hopped on social media for some calm reassurance from WCNC chief meteorologist Brad Panovich.
Sure enough, there he was on Facebook Live from his home office in front of 13,000 online viewers, patiently explaining the models and issuing warnings and “all-clears” as the storm moved through.
Around 11 p.m., at 2 hours and 23 minutes into his Facebook live broadcast, Panovich returned from a bathroom break with a stunner of an off-the-cuff comment about why he was only on social media and not on TV:
Usually if I’m working on air, which I am not able to this week and I’m not able to say why, but it is related to Covid-19. And it’s not that I’m sick or anything, so I’m not saying that, but I’m just saying just like many people, some people are being forced to take a week off with no pay. [Laughs.] That is basically why I’m not on TV and I’m only working as an amateur meteorologist today, showing you these severe thunderstorms that are moving through the area and the tornado warnings we have right now.
And then he eased right back into the weather: “So there’s the tornado warning and it’s set to expire…”
His fans jumped right in with the comments.
“You should take donations like musicians are doing when they go live. I think many are thankful for you and would be happy to donate as a thank you for ‘working’ while off!” wrote one commenter.
The Ledger reached out to Panovich on Sunday to ask about his furlough, but he replied that he’d been told to send all requests to the station’s marketing and promotions department.
But it’s just another reason why Panovich is one of the most loved personalities in local TV news: not getting paid won’t keep him from talking his viewers through a scary storm. —CB
Don’t miss an issue. Support smarter local news for Charlotte.
In brief:
Ron Rivera house under contract: Ron Rivera’s 5,400 s.f. house near Quail Hollow is under contract after being on the market for nine days. Allen Tate agent Bryan Criminger told Charlotte Agenda that the house had five or six showings and multiple offers. The asking price was $1.335M. No mention of the contract price or the identity of the buyer. The Biz Journal reported last week that it was on the market. (Agenda/Biz Journal)
State parks update: State parks in North Carolina could open as soon as May 9 under Gov. Roy Cooper’s reopening plan. (News & Observer)
Atrium resumes nonessential procedures: Atrium Health said Friday that it will resume non-emergency surgeries and procedures this week, following an announcement by Novant Health that such medical services will start May 4. In a statement that seemed to contain several references to unnamed healthcare competitors, Atrium said the timelines mean that Atrium will be “the first health system in the region to expand the delivery of care services.” Atrium also said it “leads all other regional systems with twice as many physicians, over 900 care locations and the largest hospital bed capacity in the region” and that its Covid-19 test results arrive “up to three days faster than any other local provider.” (Observer)
Not staying at home: North Carolina was tied with Louisiana for the biggest drop in social distancing between April 10 and 17, according to an analysis of cell phone location data by University of Maryland researchers. Public health officials worry about “quarantine fatigue.” “It seems collectively we’re getting a little tired. It looks like people are loosening up on their own to travel more,” one researcher said. (Washington Post)
Hospitalization number sought: The Ledger again asked on Sunday for the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 in Mecklenburg County. The response from the city-county Joint Information Center: “Thank you for the question. We will need to follow up on this at the beginning of the week.”
Atrium expands mobile testing: Atrium Health will increase its number of mobile Covid-19 testing sites to five this week and 10 next week to accommodate more tests of black and Latino residents. It has previously had two mobile sites. (QCityMetro)
Loans available: A Charlotte company says it’s offering up to 50 local businesses zero-interest loans of up to $20,000 to help them recover from the economic effects of the coronavirus. The company, Withco, works to support small businesses. More details here.
Big donation: Families affiliated with Providence Day School raised $145,000 for Loaves & Fishes, one of the largest single gifts received by the agency since the pandemic began.
Yard waste reminder: Starting today, the city is conducting a one-time curbside removal of yard waste, which was suspended last month. “Residents are advised to put their yard waste at the curb prior to Monday, April 27 for collection and leave it until it is collected.” (City of Charlotte)
Shooting remembrance: UNC Charlotte is holding an online ceremony on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the campus shooting that killed two students. “United: A Remembrance Program” will feature speeches, an artistic video and musical performances. It’s at 5:10 p.m. on Thursday. Details here.
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? Here you go:
Got a news tip? Think we missed something? Drop us a line at editor@cltledger.com and let us know.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Archives available at https://charlotteledger.substack.com/archive.
On Twitter: @cltledger
Sponsorship information: email editor@cltledger.com.
The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and web site publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire; Reporting intern: David Griffith