Nurses nationwide are turning to two-way baby monitors to interact with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in isolation, reports ABC News.
The solution helps limit in-person interactions that could put providers at risk and preserves personal protective equipment. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente rolled out baby monitors at its facilities in Santa Clara County, Calif., after looking for a patient care solution that was easily scalable and required little training, according to Stephen Parodi, MD, an executive vice president at Kaiser.
"It's a great example of nursing innovation with our front-line staff," Stacy Alves, MSN, RN, a nurse at Kaiser's South Sacramento Medical Center, where the monitors are being used, told ABC News. "In terms of our nursing staff, it gives us peace of mind because we can directly observe our patients at all times and as nurses we like constantly assessing."
While some experts have raised concerns about network security and technology limitations, healthcare leaders said the monitors are a temporary solution to relieve some of the pandemic's strain on hospitals and that the benefits outweigh the risks.