August 13, 2025
St. Peter’s Health in Helena is the first hospital in Montana to implement virtual nursing as an expansion of the patient care team. "This is an important step in providing increased support at the bedside for nurses and patients," said Chief Nursing Officer Kari Koehler, MSN, RN.
St. Peter’s launched the virtual nursing program to help address the growing shortage of nurses and reduce burnout among the nursing staff. “As healthcare changes, so must we. Our virtual nursing program harnesses innovation and technology to meet staffing challenges, head-on, support our incredible care teams and ensure our patients continue to receive the compassionate, high-quality care they deserve,” said Chief Executive Officer Wade Johnson, FACHE.
Since the program’s implementation a year ago, some of the significant milestones achieved as part of a larger effort with our nursing staff and care managers includes:
- A 6% decrease in patient length of stay, enhancing patient throughput and optimizing bed availability with discharge assistance.
- Staffing improvements that include:
- Filling 31 Registered Nurse (RN) positions
- Increasing retention of RNs by 50%
- Decreasing reliance on traveling nurses by 35%
- A 48% decrease in patient falls
- A 13.7% reduction in readmissions
"Through this initiative, we are empowering our team to provide proactive, responsive care that meets the evolving needs of our community, while addressing the challenges facing healthcare today,” said Koehler. “Now that the virtual nursing program has been in place for a little more than a year, most of our nurses prefer working on units with the system.”
The highly experienced Virtual RNs, LPNs, and Sitter companions interact with patients using a high-powered webcam and the room's television, documenting patient information in real-time, and are available 24/7. Their main tasks include completing admission intakes, providing patient education, and facilitating discharges. “This allows our bedside nurses more time to focus on our patients without getting bogged down with administrative tasks and gives our patients two nurses instead of one," said Koehler. Just like bedside nurses, the virtual nurses "knock" with a chime, requesting to enter the room (i.e., turn on the camera and video stream).
To date, virtual nurses have provided St. Peter’s patients with more than 30,000 hours of care.
About Banyan Medical Solutions
Since 2009, Banyan Medical Solutions has pioneered virtual nursing and remains at the forefront of the industry. It provides extensive, scalable, and sustainable solutions that enhance patient outcomes and reduce hospital costs. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Banyan serves hospitals nationwide and is committed to advancing patient care and revolutionizing healthcare delivery. Learn more about Banyan at banyanmed.com.