Editor’s Note: The 2020 winners of the McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards are being announced Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. Skilled Care track winners are being announced here by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. Senior Living track winners are being announced on the website of sister publication McKnight’s Senior Living.
Pikeville Nursing and Rehab is located in the heart of Kentucky’s rural coal country, but the 106-bed facility is working hard to put technology at the heart of its approach to patient care.
The independent skilled nursing home is a Gold winner in the High-Tech, High-Touch category of the 2020 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards in the Skilled Nursing track.
This year, Pikeville instituted a remote patient monitoring system of its diabetes patients, which transmits blood sugar readings to cloud-based software using a cellular connection. Partner clinicians can then access that information immediately, rather than when a nurse has time to call or the next time they are on-site.
“Results are much faster, and monitoring is a lot better because it automatically populates our spreadsheets,” says Administrator Derek Bevins. “We close that gap, and our providers can react immediately and treat the patient.”
The system also generates weekly reports that allow the community to spot trends.
In addition, Pikeville partnered with TapestryHealth to implement a transitional care program. It begins with a call home and an appointment with the community’s nurse practitioner, and the service can coordinate with caregivers or home care staff to ensure post-discharge instructions are being followed and that the patient has no new health obstacles.
Bevins says the program is helpful to Pikeville as it can reduce hospital readmissions and helps the community differentiate itself from competitors. But patients also appreciate that it can help them manage common challenges including medication management and scheduling of follow-up care.
It “allows us to extend our services into the community,” Bevins wrote in his entry.
Other High-Tech, High-Touch award winners in the Skilled Nursing track:
- Silver: Candian long-term care provider Shannex implemented Tenera Care’s wearable technology as a monitoring tool for falls and as a tracing tool during COVID-19.
- Bronze: Gurwin Healthcare System of Commack, NY, instituted daily telehealth checks in its memory care unit to modify care plans as needed during the COVID pandemic.
Competition entries were submitted earlier this year and judged by an independent panel of skilled care and senior living experts and industry professionals. Stanley Healthcare is the Platinum sponsor of the 2020 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards. MatrixCare is the Gold sponsor for the Senior Living track.
A full list of this year’s winners can be found here.
