eICU gives long-distance care, specialists' eyes to rural areas

Des Moines, IA-based Mercy Medical Center has begun caring for patients using Mercy eICU Connect--the first Iowa-based electronic intensive care unit. The system allows doctors and nurses keep track of critical care patients remotely, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The eICU enables those at the monitoring center to treat patients before complications take place, and the hope is that patients will spend fewer days in the hospital and that costs will decrease, officials say.