Washington County Hospital and Clinics will now be able to provide continuous quality care for patients throughout their system thanks to a grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation.

WCHC was one of five recipients announced for the 2021 large grant cycle, receiving $150,000 for a complete patient monitoring system. CEO Todd Patterson says this new system which costs over $300,000 will allow nurses and medical providers to remotely monitor patients’ conditions especially as they move from one medical unit to another. Patterson says this new software will make their patient monitoring comparable to healthcare centers like the University of Iowa, “One of the things it does right off the bat is it allows us to take care of complicated patients and allow them to stay in our hospital longer, which is a great thing to have. People like to stay close to home and it gives us enhanced capabilities to be able to do that. So it’s a huge benefit to the community especially at a time when hospital space is really at a premium at other facilities.”

WCHC will begin installing the Mindray software in December with anticipated readiness by mid January. Patterson thanked the riverboat foundation for their continued support and the Washington County Hospital Foundation for their accomplishments in applying for the grant and raising 40% of the matching funds.