Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck announced this week that it is the first hospital in New Jersey to offer needle-free blood draws for inpatients.
Holy Name officials said the hospital is using the PIVO device, which comes from Velano Vascular.
As part of the effort, Holy Name is deploying a new telepresence technology, also provided by Velano, to train staff virtually on the PIVO procedure in accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols.
By adopting this new standard of care, known as One-Stick Hospitalization, Holy Name officials say they can extract high quality blood draws easily and humanely from patients’ indwelling IV lines without requiring additional needle sticks, resulting in a safer, better experience.
Dr. Adam Jarrett, the chief medical officer, said the procedure will have great impact.
“The One-Stick Hospitalization movement transforms a universally dreaded and unpleasant experience into a patient satisfier — improving the standard, quality and cost of care for everyone involved,” he said.
“Holy Name is proudly on the leading edge of today’s most innovative clinical practices, and we remain committed to enhancing both the patient and staff experience by removing the needle from blood collection.”
To train staff on proper use of Velano’s technology, Holy Name has deployed Velano Vascular’s virtual training platform. The company’s remotely piloted trainers enable Holy Name staff to receive real-time, bedside training from Velano nurse educators while limiting in-person interaction and exposure during the pandemic.
Michele Acito, the chief nursing officer at Holy Name, said this training is part of the new normal in health care.
“The pandemic is actively changing the way we practice medicine and will undoubtedly move us to a place where telepresence for new product and practice training and engagement is a routine part of health care,” she said. “We are excited to be one of the first hospitals in the country to embrace virtual training as part of adopting this new vascular access practice that touches every single one of our inpatients.”
