Clinicians at Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health are connecting with patients via baby monitors to reduce personal protective equipment use and the spread of COVID-19.
Baby monitors allow clinicians to check on patients and evaluate their needs without entering the room in full PPE. This initial visual look can be especially useful when caring for patients who may not be fully alert.
"It's great because every hour, I can check on our patients, see how they are breathing, and help remind them to do their breathing exercises and incentive spirometry," Krystal Blayton, BSN, RN, a clinical supervisor at Atrium Health Pineville in Charlotte, said in a news release. "I feel like I can connect better with the patients, being able to see them, rather than just calling on the call bell system."
Atrium Health developed a standardized policy to ensure proper use of baby monitors across its facilities. The health system has distributed more than 200 baby monitors to hospitals in Charlotte and Macon, Ga., since first piloting use of the technology.