How St. Louis Children’s Hospital Uses the Meeting Owl to Keep Patients and Families Connected

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, St. Louis Children's Hospital put infection prevention measures into effect immediately -- including reducing the number of external visitors allowed inside the hospital. 

Although that course of action addressed infection prevention safety concerns, it posed a serious challenge with pediatric patients, especially those with serious chronic conditions requiring complicated long-term care.

Before COVID-19, patients were able to video conference with family members, but there weren’t any processes in place to connect care providers and families virtually. That all changed when the hospital was challenged to think about safe and creative ways to keep daily patient rounds interactive while keeping patients and staff as safe as possible during the pandemic.

St. Louis Children's Hospital began using the Meeting Owl during patient rounds on the hospital's pulmonary unit so patients' parents and family members could be a part of care conversations without being physically present. 

Dr. Stuart Sweet, MD, Director of Pediatric Lung Transplant Program, explains: "A virtual platform allows the patient's hospital team, primary care physician, and the patient's family to still participate in rounds and care discussions to deliver better care when they wouldn't otherwise be able to because of physical distance."

By conducting virtual patient rounds with the Meeting Owl, St. Louis Children’s Hospital is able to continue to provide compassionate patient-centered care to pediatric patients, including family involvement, while maintaining social distancing best practices.

In the future, Dr. Sweet hopes the technology can help keep providers connected across the large hospital and academic campuses in St. Louis and enable primary care providers to be involved in acute and long-term care plans. 

Dr. Sweet explains: “Even in times when you don't need to do social distancing, there are instances when we would like to bring people into the hospital environment who are participants in patient care but can't be there in person, such as working parents, referring physicians, and primary care providers. Normally, they don't have an opportunity to talk to the whole team, but a virtual platform can remove that distance barrier.”

The Meeting Owl helps hospitals and medical practices virtually connect with patients, families, and other providers to ensure the quality of care isn't disrupted by distance.