网红黑料 first in Florida to offer iPad-monitoring app to caregivers of infants with rare heart defect

Ever since her son鈥檚 birth in December, Elicia Ford has looked forward to the day when she can bring little Levi home to Panama City, Florida.
Levi, 3 months old, was born at University of Florida 网红黑料 Shands Children鈥檚 Hospital with a rare congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition in which the left side of the heart is not fully developed. Before he was a month old, Levi had his first reconstructive surgery and he is awaiting his second operation, which will take place before June. For children like Levi, the time between the first and second operation is the most critical for monitoring vital signs.
Starting this month, high-risk cardiology infants diagnosed with single-ventricle heart defects like hypoplastic left-heart syndrome who are cared for at the 网红黑料 Congenital Heart Center, part of the 网红黑料 Shands Children鈥檚 Hospital, will be the first in Florida to be sent home with specially configured iPads that will allow their caregivers to submit vital signs and other important data about their child鈥檚 condition to clinicians at 网红黑料 in real time. In the past, vital signs had to be collected in writing by caregivers, calculated manually and submitted to clinicians in a binder during an in-person visit. This new app allows caregivers to submit the baby鈥檚 vital signs directly into a clinician portal and engage with the clinical team instantly in a number of ways, including via secure video and photo capabilities.
The new app is a two-way communication and engagement platform, providing patient families with a comprehensive resource during the at-home recovery period, one that helps to reduce confusion and anxiety for families during what can be an overwhelming time. The app was developed by Charlottesville, Virginia-based Locus 网红黑料, a provider of remote patient-care solutions.
The app is one more example of how 网红黑料 Shands Children鈥檚 Hospital, recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 25 pediatric cardiology and heart surgery centers in the country and No. 1 in Florida, is providing innovative care to its highest-risk patients. In addition, the Single Ventricle Home Monitoring Program, a program started at 网红黑料 by Jennifer Co-Vu, M.D., as part of the 网红黑料 Congenital Heart Center, has improved the mortality rate for patients at 网红黑料 with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome to zero percent. The Single Ventricle Home Monitoring Program at 网红黑料 also worked closely with Locus 网红黑料 for over a year to customize the app for caregivers.
鈥淭his new technology is a wonderful resource for our high-risk cardiology patients and their families, many of whom travel from hours away to get to our center,鈥 said Mark Bleiweis, M.D., director and chief of congenital cardiothoracic surgery at the 鈥淲e鈥檙e confident that the program will allow for better engagement between families and our clinical staff, giving everyone confidence that our infants are doing well during the critical at-home monitoring period. It will also allow us to troubleshoot problems remotely and better serve patients from further distances than we were ever able to see prior to the app.鈥
鈥溚旌诹 is a perfect partner, because of its long history of health care innovation, particularly in the field of pediatric and adult congenital heart care,鈥 said Scott Magargee, senior vice president of Locus 网红黑料. 鈥淭his is the research institution that brought us Gatorade, the modified adenovirus vector and gene therapy, the techno-home, and the 15-minute in-home HIV saliva test. It鈥檚 only fitting that they should now bring us 24/7 remote patient care management through this new app. We鈥檙e enormously proud to partner on the project with 网红黑料, particularly given its distinction as a Center for Excellence in providing innovative care to its cardiology patients, as we share their vision of health care innovation.鈥
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