It could be the future of healthcare and now, you can find it in Syracuse.
The halls of Loretto buzzed on Wednesday morning as a revolutionary technology was introduced.
“That revolving door system had to stop,” said Dr. Anthony Bacchi. “As a physician and as an owner of a nursing home, I felt the best way to stop that would be to change the system.”
Bacchi is a doctor, nursing home owner, and the founder of TeliStat Restorative Care Units.
He recognized a problem in his field and decided to change it. “When you saw the typical care in a nursing home and know that these patients should be treated within your facility, and you’re obligated to send them out, you as a physician have a moral responsibility to ensure that you can provide better care and a better facility,” He explained.
So, he said, it’s patient care being advanced with the TeliStat technology. Patients wear a special watch that takes their vitals in real time, and transfers them to a monitor for a doctor or nurse to monitor.
If something looks abnormal, the on-call doctor can be video-conferenced in at any time.
That reduces the need for a trip to the hospital, which can prove detrimental to the patient and their family.
“You see when they return, they’re in a completely different state of mind,” said Joelle Mergray of Loretto. “They’re not the same person as they were when they left. They’ve had added diagnoses, added confusion. It’s just not a good place for them to be in and out.”
So, this technology keeps them in their room and connects them to a doctor through video conferencing.
On the other end, the on-call physicians and specialists can use an app to view, in real time, the patients vitals, and medical records.
Dr. Bacchi hopes this is just the start of providing more comfortable care for patients.
TeliStat capable beds open at Loretto on Monday.
