Considering these goals, SCP’s clinical and operational leaders recommended the following plan to the multidisciplinary Joint Operations Committee (composed of EM and HM medical directors, members of hospital administration, nursing directors, and other key stakeholders):

• Hire a new daytime internist to support higher acuity patients
• Hire an experienced telenocturnist to care for HM patients overnight—even in critical situations requiring vent management
• Establish technology that would allow for telehealth support and smoother nurse workflow
• Facilitate conversations and trainings to gradually get the full clinical staff on board

Once approved, SCP moved forward with this robust approach—and quickly saw positive results. When the COVID-19 pandemic surged just months later, SCP was able to help the facility navigate through this unstable time—even implementing a more advanced telehealth cart to increase the efficacy of the telenocturnist.