Tampa General Hospital Teams Up with Stel Life In Offering Seamless Remote Health Care Technology

This collaboration meets patients in the comfort of their own homes as wireless monitoring devices give patients with chronic conditions many of the benefits of care.

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Consider it more than a remote possibility. Nearly 1,000 Tampa General Hospital (TGH) patients are proof that patient care can be provided at home by using advanced technologies that communicate with health care providers.

Remote patient monitoring is a continually growing trend in health care that allows caregivers to receive important health information about patients. The updates from a patient at home allow health care experts to make real-time decisions in a virtual setting that can help patients experience the best possible health.

Tampa General, an academic medical center on Florida's west coast, is conducting a remote patient monitoring project focused on patients with such primary chronic conditions as:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Congestive heart failure (CHF)
• High blood pressure

"Our goal is to improve quality outcomes and the lives of patients,'' said Jason Swoboda, director of Innovation at Tampa General. "The hope is to support chronically ill patients in the comfort of their homes. It's really about improving quality of life for those we serve."

Tampa General Hospital is collaborating with an innovative digital health connectivity company Stel Life on the system's hardware and software. Stel's "Vitals Hub'' integrates with health monitoring devices, including:

• Scales
• Blood pressure cuffs
• Glucometers (blood sugar testing)
• Thermometers

One advantage of the Stel Life operating system is its simplicity. Patients who are not accustomed to using smartphones or who may not have access to advanced technology benefit from the fact that the Stel Hub is "plug and go." The Stel Hub seamlessly and securely connects wireless health devices to electronic health records without complex setup or mobile applications.

"The Stel Hub works without patients needing smartphones, Wi-Fi, or for those who don't have a comfort level with technology. Stel has worked hard to simplify digital access and health equity barriers by improving access to care so patients are not left behind as their care evolves," said Sid Kandan, CEO of Stel Life. "Patients just need to plug the Vitals Hub into a wall outlet and take their vital signs as requested by their care provider. Patients won't need to play around with setting screens or app setup flows to connect with their care team."

To scale Tampa General's remote patient monitoring solution, the academic medical center has partnered with Signallamp Health Inc. to provide the clinical capacity to support the expanded care. "With real-time patient vitals and dynamic collaboration through a multidisciplinary team, including the patient's primary care physician and the clinical pharmacy, Signallamp Health's team of clinicians ensures continuity of patient care. Clinical parameters customized by the provider and readily-accessible care management resources provide patients with a high-touch and personalized experience that keeps them active in their own care," said Drew Kearney, co-founder and CEO of Signallamp Health.

According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, people receiving care at home had a 26% lower risk of readmission to the hospital and a lower risk for long-term care admission than hospitalized patients.

"Our partnership with Stel Life and Signallamp is part of our commitment to driving world-class innovation that truly improves the quality of care our patients receive," said Rachel Feinman, vice president of Innovation at Tampa General and managing director of TGH Innoventures, the hospital's innovation center and venture capital fund. "Remote patent monitoring solutions like Stel and Signallamp are a real game changer in providing at-home care for patients with chronic conditions."

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic medical center's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track. As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Stel Life's mission is to simplify health device connectivity for patients, care teams, and digital health companies. As Patients and Care Teams evolve the standard of care to the home, common barriers emerge around complexity with access, usability, security, and supply chain. Stel's proprietary technology simplifies these complexities, so Patients and Care Teams have confidence to adopt the new normal of care. Stel's patented "Passive and Secure Health Device Connectivity" connects patients with their care team without requiring Wi-Fi, smartphones, or tech-literacy. Patients simply use health devices within 100-ft of any compatible IoT Hub with StelOS, and Stel will securely transmit the measurement to the patient's Electronic Health Records preferred platform. Stel does not receive PHI or customer data in this process. Stel is working to expand support to Modems, Routers, Smart HomeSpeakers, and other internet gateways to enable safe and accessible connectivity for all patients. Health Systems count on Stel to support patients across the entire care continuum with multiple specialty companies in Hospital at Home, Transition of Care, Chronic Condition Management, and Wellness. Stel has transmitted millions of measurements from patients all across the world. Stel is an award-winning healthtech company that actively participates with standards groups to make health connectivity more accessible and secure. For more information, go to www.stel.life.

Signallamp Health, Inc. is a remote care management solution for providers where patients are managed virtually through a proprietary system that aligns clinical interventions by patient, health plan, provide and payment modality. Patients experience personalized longitudinal care and providers retain autonomy and clinical discretion over their patients without upfront investment. Signallamp Health is trusted by many of the top health systems in the U.S. and has been repeatedly recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the Top 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S. For more information, visit https://signallamphealth.com.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
Senior Communications Specialist
(813) 844-7322 (direct)
(813) 510-6363 (cell)
[email protected]

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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital