National Health Care Associates Inc., a network of affiliated skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living centers throughout the northeast, and Circadia Technologies Ltd. (Circadia), engineers of the world’s first FDA-cleared truly contactless remote patient monitoring system, announce a partnership in an effort to help prevent hospitalizations and increase positive health outcomes for those in skilled nursing centers.
The Circadia C100 System (Circadia System) manufactured by Circadia monitors respiratory rate through contactless radar-based technology. The wireless device is simply mounted to a wall near a resident’s bed. It records a resident’s respiratory rate every three seconds and compresses the data, which is stored in a portal and monitored by licensed healthcare professionals. Upon further review by clinicians, when a resident shows a change in respiratory rate, the center’s care team may receive an alert so they can immediately increase diagnostics at the bedside and start to investigate the cause of the change in respiratory rate — which could be caused by anything from a urinary tract infection (UTI) to a major cardiac event.
The Circadia System helps clinicians monitor residents at risk of, or diagnosed with, COVID-19, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sepsis, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, fall risk, UTIs, and acute renal failure. Three New York State centers in the National Health Care Associates network have used the device since December 2020. Other centers located in New York and Connecticut plan to go live with the Circadia System by the end of the year.
“Our goal is to offer this technology at all affiliated centers within the National Health Care Associates’ network,” said Ann Spenard, DNP, RN-BC, Chief Clinical Officer, National Health Care Associates. “The Circadia System has been life-changing for the vulnerable patient population we serve. The level of heightened awareness early on, even before a resident starts to show symptoms, gives our clinical team the opportunity to begin enhanced bedside monitoring and determine if tests or medications are needed before symptoms start to show. We are able to take a more proactive approach to treating our residents while they remain in their beds and avoid hospitalization.”
An example of the capability of this technology to improve clinical outcomes occurred in a center when an 83-year-old resident began to show signs of respiratory distress, but not to the natural eye — or even to her own knowledge. Alerted to this change in the resident’s respiratory pattern, her care team continued to monitor her for symptoms. When she began coughing and showed elevated symptoms a few days later, they were already treating her, having run diagnostic tests and prescribed antibiotics. Thanks to early indication and action, the resident avoided hospitalization and received treatment in place, recovering within a few days.
“The Circadia System is beneficial to both patients, as well as clinicians, as it improves clinical outcomes through early detection,” said Fares Siddiqui, CEO & Co-founder, Circadia. “The system uses algorithms to track trends and look at patterns over time. Respiratory rate data, provided over the short and long term, alongside automated notification, aims to monitor patient status, facilitate early intervention, and as a result reduce overall health burden and associated costs. Our unique contactless tracking technology provides a significant opportunity to improve monitoring and disease management of patients in skilled nursing settings, especially in a time where many face staffing challenges. National Health Care Associates serves as a strong partner in our efforts to identify early indications of infection or medical events in skilled nursing residents and was the first to adopt this cutting-edge technology in the U.S. Together, we’re on a mission to protect the most fragile and frail percentage of our population — our seniors.”
“When we learned about Circadia, we partnered without hesitation to bring this offering to our centers as we knew it would increase the trust families would feel for their loved ones in our care exponentially,” said Christina Fleming, Chief Marketing Officer, National Health Care Associates. “We strive to deliver exceptional care to our residents, and this technology is a game-changer in the way we can do that. Our specially trained staff can now intervene at an earlier time and enhanced level before traditional diagnostics would even begin to indicate a medical issue.”
Fleming added, “The long-term care industry often faces a prevalent stigma, even more so since the onset of the pandemic. The truth is that these centers provide a higher level of skilled nursing care for the population they serve and now, with the addition of the Circadia System, our centers can offer additional care coordination services and patient care capabilities beyond those often found in more traditional care settings.”
