The Grand Junction VA Medical Center in Colorado just became the 17th facility to join VA's Tele-Intensive Care Unit (TeleICU) system. The program brings remote intensivist health professionals into a facility's ICU rooms over video screens to assist local staff in treating and diagnosing patients.

Doctors and nurses at VA's TeleICU Center in Minneapolis, as well as in Chicago and Iowa City, are on call at all times of the day to provide assistance to the VA facilities in the program. Each of Grand Junction's five ICU rooms are now equipped with a TV screen, camera and other Tele-ICU equipment.

"This really allows us to increase the complexity of patients that we see here while bringing in a second set of eyes on our staff," said Grand Junction VA Director Michael Kilmer in a recent Daily Sentinel article. "Being a small rural facility, it's a good opportunity for us to bring in support that we couldn't otherwise afford."

Read the full article to learn more.