Telehealth/Virtual Care
Not being able to access healthcare is a barrier to wellness for many patients. Some people don't have transportation; others aren't well enough to travel; some need on-the-spot care when they are facing a personal crisis. IU Health uses technology solutions to deliver virtual healthcare solutions to patients, no matter where they are.
Read on for stories of how philanthropy makes healthcare available to all.
“We had a public COVID-19 screening portal up and running within 36 hours of learning about the first Indiana case on March 5,” said Ian McDaniel PT, MBA, executive director, Virtual Care at IU Health. “During our department’s third year, IU Health Foundation secured a $1.4 million grant that enabled us to invest in virtual care in every IU Health emergency department, to help those suffering from mental health and substance use disorder. When COVID hit, we already knew the ins and outs of using digital platforms. That allowed us to pivot more quickly than some our national peers, who were scrambling to understand the technology and implementation.”
McDaniel’s team instead turned its attention to guiding safe arrival protocols for those people who were suspected of having COVID-19 and were directed to hospitals. And providing a trusted clinical voice to the concerned population. Of the nearly 18,000 people screened in the first four weeks, only 200 required in-person care.
“Donor support to explore innovation is critical,” said McDaniel. “It’s what enabled IU Health to respond so quickly to this pandemic. We were able to say ‘We’ve got this.’" Give now.
Quick pivot to virtual COVID-19 screenings
“We had a public COVID-19 screening portal up and running within 36 hours of learning about the first Indiana case on March 5,” said Ian McDaniel PT, MBA, executive director, Virtual Care at IU Health. “During our department’s third year, IU Health Foundation secured a $1.4 million grant that enabled us to invest in virtual care in every IU Health emergency department, to help those suffering from mental health and substance use disorder. When COVID hit, we already knew the ins and outs of using digital platforms. That allowed us to pivot more quickly than some our national peers, who were scrambling to understand the technology and implementation.”
McDaniel’s team instead turned its attention to guiding safe arrival protocols for those people who were suspected of having COVID-19 and were directed to hospitals. And providing a trusted clinical voice to the concerned population. Of the nearly 18,000 people screened in the first four weeks, only 200 required in-person care.
“Donor support to explore innovation is critical,” said McDaniel. “It’s what enabled IU Health to respond so quickly to this pandemic. We were able to say ‘We’ve got this.’" Give now.
“They have been with me every step of the way,” said Michelle Manning (pictured with her children) about the staff at the chemical dependency and pain clinic at IU Health Methodist Hospital. Having struggled with substance abuse for years, Manning was able to turn her life around with assistance from IU Health behavioral health peer recovery specialists, specially trained advisors who are in long-term recovery themselves.
Thanks to philanthropy, these peer recovery coaches are available in all IU Health emergency departments to any patient with substance abuse issues. The coaches talk with patients over monitors to connect patients with recovery resources.
Manning, who now volunteers with the program, connects patients with resources that offer hope for recovery. Behavioral health services at IU Health could grow and offer more resources with donor contributions. Give now.
On-the-spot recovery resources
“They have been with me every step of the way,” said Michelle Manning (pictured with her children) about the staff at the chemical dependency and pain clinic at IU Health Methodist Hospital. Having struggled with substance abuse for years, Manning was able to turn her life around with assistance from IU Health behavioral health peer recovery specialists, specially trained advisors who are in long-term recovery themselves.
Thanks to philanthropy, these peer recovery coaches are available in all IU Health emergency departments to any patient with substance abuse issues. The coaches talk with patients over monitors to connect patients with recovery resources.
Manning, who now volunteers with the program, connects patients with resources that offer hope for recovery. Behavioral health services at IU Health could grow and offer more resources with donor contributions. Give now.
Philanthropy allowed IU Health to launch the state’s first Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit. Time is of the essence when a stroke happens, and this neurology ICU on wheels rushes treatment to the patient’s location, conducts a CT scan and blood tests, then, if needed, administers clot-busting medicine or prepares a patient for surgery en route to a hospital.
Time saved means fewer disabled people in nursing homes and fewer lives lost to stroke. Expanding the program beyond one mobile unit will take donor support. Give now.
Faster care for stroke patients
Philanthropy allowed IU Health to launch the state’s first Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit. Time is of the essence when a stroke happens, and this neurology ICU on wheels rushes treatment to the patient’s location, conducts a CT scan and blood tests, then, if needed, administers clot-busting medicine or prepares a patient for surgery en route to a hospital.
Time saved means fewer disabled people in nursing homes and fewer lives lost to stroke. Expanding the program beyond one mobile unit will take donor support. Give now.
As more parents struggle with substance use disorder, more child protective cases are filed, and more parents are at risk of losing custody of their children to foster care. Thanks to a grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, a first-of-its-kind collaboration is working to break this chain of events and keep families intact.
The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), IU Health, Indiana University School of Social Work and IU Health Foundation have created a program that connects parents with IU Health peer recovery coaches at the moment when their substance use is revealed--during a DCS home visit or a custody hearing in front of a judge. These specially trained coaches – who themselves have experienced addiction and are in long-term recovery – can offer recovery resources on the spot via virtual care technology, potentially allowing children to remain in the home, or at least spend less time in foster care, while the parent is pursuing wellness.
“Reducing the rate of opioid use disorder is critical to improving the health of Hoosiers, and we know this work requires creative solutions,” said Claire Fiddian-Green, president and CEO of the Fairbanks Foundation. “We applaud these community organizations for joining forces to help vulnerable families.”
The two-year program is being piloted in Marion County, but could expand to other Indiana communities with additional philanthropic support. Contact Jami Marsh, executive director, system philanthropic strategy for IU Health Foundation, for details on corporate, government and foundation partnerships.
Unique collaboration keeps families together
As more parents struggle with substance use disorder, more child protective cases are filed, and more parents are at risk of losing custody of their children to foster care. Thanks to a grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, a first-of-its-kind collaboration is working to break this chain of events and keep families intact.
The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), IU Health, Indiana University School of Social Work and IU Health Foundation have created a program that connects parents with IU Health peer recovery coaches at the moment when their substance use is revealed--during a DCS home visit or a custody hearing in front of a judge. These specially trained coaches – who themselves have experienced addiction and are in long-term recovery – can offer recovery resources on the spot via virtual care technology, potentially allowing children to remain in the home, or at least spend less time in foster care, while the parent is pursuing wellness.
“Reducing the rate of opioid use disorder is critical to improving the health of Hoosiers, and we know this work requires creative solutions,” said Claire Fiddian-Green, president and CEO of the Fairbanks Foundation. “We applaud these community organizations for joining forces to help vulnerable families.”
The two-year program is being piloted in Marion County, but could expand to other Indiana communities with additional philanthropic support. Contact Jami Marsh, executive director, system philanthropic strategy for IU Health Foundation, for details on corporate, government and foundation partnerships.