WesleyCare Virtual Network

For over 18 years, rural communities that lack on-site neurologists have had access to trained specialists at HCA HealthONE Swedish and Wesley Medical Center via the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network with the goal of keeping patients in their home communities. Wesley Medical Center is a Primary Stroke Center designated by The Joint Commission, meaning we meet and surpass the national standards for stroke patient outcomes. Wesley Medical Center was also a 2018 “Gold Plus” award recipient of the American heart Association and American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke program. HCA HealthONE Swedish was the first hospital in Colorado to be certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for achieving excellent patient outcomes and care.

Every second counts in minimizing damage from a stroke and neurologists are on call 24 hours, 7 days a week and respond to alerts within minutes to assist on-site providers with diagnosis, treatment, and medication recommendations.

The viability and importance of the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network is evidenced by the success of its stroke program. In 2023, over 8,400 stroke telemedicine consults had been conducted with our network partners. Our rural hospital Tele-Stroke retention rate was over 80% in 2023. Patient retention helps our partner sites minimize transportation costs and improve patient care and satisfaction.

Bringing artificial intelligence to stroke care

Synchronized stroke care reduces time to notification of suspected large vessel occlusions (LVOs) and intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs). As the region’s leading provider of Tele-Stroke services, the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network provides 24/7 stroke neurology coverage to more than 65 hospitals in a four-state region. With the use of artificial intelligence, we can automatically detect suspected LVOs and ICHs, providing earlier identification of stroke and helping improve time to therapeutic intervention.

What is A.I. LVO/ICH detection?

Artificial intelligence is used to automatically detect suspected LVOs and ICHs on CTA imaging and directly alert the on-call stroke specialists about potentially treatable patients.

A.I. detection reduced time to notification for suspected LVO and ICH strokes by an average of 52 minutes* and 38 minutes**, respectively

How does it work?

Stroke-protocoled CTA images from remote hospitals are sent directly to the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network where an advanced deep learning algorithm automatically analyzes the images on a HIPAA-compliant cloud.

When a suspected LVO or ICH is found, an alert is sent to the on-call stroke specialists where they are able to review images using a mobile viewer. 90% of alerts are reviewed by the intended specialist within 5 minutes***.

What are the benefits?

Automated detection could help identify more suspected LVOs and provider earlier notification to the stroke specialists, reducing time to therapeutic treatment and ensuring that only appropriate patients are transferred. Automatic AI detects suspected acute and chronic hemorrhage down to 1 ml. Accurate volume measurements of brain bleeds are crucial for assessing the severity of cases, monitoring progression, and planning treatment strategies**.

As a part of the H1VN/WCVN, our partner facilities can provide some of the most advanced stroke care to their communities.

*1 FDA De Novo DEN170073, Core Lab Study, 2 Center, n=44, Sensitivity 87.8%, Specificity 89.6%. 2017.
** viz.ai/hemorrhage
*** viz.ai/large-vessel-occlusion

Neurologists from the HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Neuro Network are available 24/7/365 to provide consults in the emergency department for Emergent Neurologic conditions including, but not limited to: first time seizure, status epilepticus, severe headache, neuro muscular emergencies, subarachnoid hemorrhage, altered mental status, and sub-acute stroke.

There is a significant shortage of mental health resources in our region, especially in rural areas. HCA HealthONE/WesleyCare Virtual Network's goal is to support that need with its Tele-Psychiatry program. Partner sites can request consults 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A psychiatrist performs a full psychiatric evaluation through telemedicine with patients. These patients receive a rapid psychiatric evaluation and an inpatient level of medication intervention. Our psychiatry providers assist on-site providers with diagnosis, short- and long-term treatment recommendations, and medication guidance. In conjunction with hospital-based resources, the Tele-Psychiatry program decreases the wait time for inpatient behavioral health bed placement.

The course of pregnancy is an incredible time in a mother's life and is filled with many exciting moments. There are times, however, when pregnancy doesn’t always go as planned and you need an experienced obstetrician (OB) trained in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) to navigate the challenges of a high-risk pregnancy for you and your baby. Our extensive OB experience means you receive the highest quality care in the region.

Our Tele-MFM program connects the patient with an MFM-trained obstetrician in an outpatient clinic, allowing the patient to stay in their home community. A sonographer, who is certified to the highest standards of both the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), travels to the outpatient clinic in the patient’s home community for the appointment. Because our sonographers are so highly trained, you and your baby receive some of the best obstetrician-provided imaging in the region.