New Screening Process for UMH

Uvalde Memorial Hospital has partnered with care.ai™ to provide the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology for entry screening and visitor management at the facility. Using care.ai™ technology, screening station devices placed at the entrance of the hospital will serve as a checkpoint for all patients, visitors, vendors, and employees.

To complete the short screening process individuals will scan the hospital’s QR code or visit https://screening.care.ai/umh to complete a short screening questionnaire needed for entry.

Once complete, a UMH Visit Pass will be generated. This Visit Pass will show the individual’s name, date and time it is active, and an individualized QR code for entry. The Visit Pass can be downloaded or a screen shot can be taken. This process takes just a few minutes and can be completed up to 12 hours prior to visiting the hospital.

Once the Visit Pass is obtained, at the hospital’s main entrance the person will approach the screening device and position their Visit Pass within the window on the screen. The station will guide the person in aligning their face to have their temperature read. The system then records the temperature and entry time.

Should a positive symptom be recognized or a temperature above the normal range be read, the device will notify the individual to wait for assistance.

Individuals can expect for the process of obtaining the Visit Pass and temperature screening to take less than five minutes. For an expedited process, scan the QR code or visit http://screnning.care.ai/umh up to 12 hours in advance of a planned visit to UMH to have a Visit Pass ready when you arrive. Individual’s visiting the hospital multiple times will have obtain a new Visit Pass once the 12-hour time span expires.

For individuals without a smart phone, hospital staff will be available on-site with a tablet to assist with the process upon arrival.

Texas Hospital Association (THA) began promoting AI technology in 2020 when they partnered with care.ai™ to demonstrate the efficiency of the technology to hospitals across the state. The partnership came on the cusp of the pandemic and UMH immediately adopted the technology for employee entry screening.

care.ai™ technology allows the facility to easily monitor, manage, and improve processes for improved performance and optimal outcomes. The system provides real-time data on how many people are inside the facility, which patient rooms have a visitor, who and how many people have complete daily symptom attestation, vaccination status and details, what time people arrived and left.

“The care.ai™ entry screening and facility monitoring Command Center lets us know how many people are in our facility, when they arrived, and if they presented with temperatures or screening questions out of the norm, in real-time,” said hospital CEO Tom Nordwick.

The process of entry screening and thermal scanners placed at doors creates an efficient flow for patients, visitors, and vendors. It also allows UMH team members, previously located at screening areas, to redeploy to areas where they are needed most.

“We are currently implementing this on a trial basis and will make adjustments to our process and vendor if needed,” Nordwick added.