Ascension St. Vincent's Chilton has partnered with UAB Medicine to bring a tele-critical care unit and tele-stroke unit to Chilton County.

The remote consultation sessions will take place from an operations center located at UAB Hospital. UAB specialists will connect via video into hospital rooms to conduct remote exams of patients and work with St. Vincent's care teams to develop a treatment plan. UAB will continue to monitor the patient each day as needed while they remain in St. Vincent's care.

When patients come to St. Vincent's Chilton emergency department presenting with stroke-like symptoms, the team will utilize the tele-stroke program to request an on-demand stroke consult. One of UAB's responding neurologists will assess the patient using the NIH stroke scale and a physical exam, assisted by the on-site emergency room physician or nurse. The neurologist will review the patient's CT scans and provide a recommendation based on their assessment. St. Vincent's Chilton will then provide inpatient care in their hospital or transfer the patient to the appropriate level of care that is needed.

Access to health care is limited in many of the state's rural counties, a situation that telemedicine programs can help alleviate. St. Vincent's Chilton is one of 10 hospitals to join UAB's tele-critical care program and one of 20 hospitals to join the tele-stroke program.