For Immediate Release

March 28, 2007

Mercy Memorial SafeWatch Saves Lives

Ardmore — Mercy Memorial Health Center in Ardmore takes it up another notch, implementing Mercy SafeWatch—an extremely high-tech approach to making sure the most critically ill patients get even better care.

“Mercy is turning tradition on its ear, finding new ways to ensure our patients get the highest quality of care possible,” said Bob Thompson, Mercy Memorial’s president and CEO. “Mercy SafeWatch is an electronic Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It’s a second set of eyes keeping watch over our most critically ill patients. For patients, it means there will be more people evaluating vital signs for abnormalities and identifying potential problems.”

Other topnotch facilities across the nation, including Johns Hopkins Hospital & Health System, are implementing VISICU’s remote critical care model and experiencing a 15 to 20 percent reduction in ICU mortality rates, and a 10 to 15 percent reduction in ICU length of stay. VISICU technology uses early warning software and remote monitoring tools to enable off-site critical care physicians and nurses to support hospital-based ICU staff in delivering high quality patient care.

“In essence, this technology provides support and assistance to the bedside, setting in motion a team approach that checks and double-checks to ensure patient safety,” said Dr. William Parsons, an internal medical physician and Mercy Memorial hospitalist. “With an off-site facility staffed around-the-clock by highly trained intensivists and critical care nurses, we are able to provide more eyes on our critical patients.”

With the high-tech system, additional medical staff based in St. Louis can see actual real-time readouts on all ICU patients, as well as review monitors, video in for easy access and conduct two-way conversations with Mercy Memorial’s medical team.

“This is an added level of care. It’s high-tech coming together with existing high-tech and high-touch care,” said Dr. Parsons. “It’s just more hands on deck. It’s a commitment by Mercy to up the ante as far as patient safety and quality care are concerned.”

Mercy Memorial Health Center is a member of Mercy Health System of Oklahoma and the Sisters of Mercy Health System.