Nyack Hospital Uses New 'Twiage' App For Measles

NYACK, NY — Montefiore Nyack Hospital, is now using a new app to assist with the measles outbreak in Rockland County. Not only is it the first hospital in New York State to deploy the Twiage emergency responders’ communication system, but also it has gotten the company to add a new "isolation" field so the Emergency Department can be alerted that a suspected measles patient is coming in.

With one of the busiest ERs in the lower Hudson Valley and the only designated Area Trauma Center at the epicenter of the measles outbreak, Montefiore Nyack Hospital has also implemented enhanced screening protocols for visitors and walk-ins to the Emergency Department.

“The safety of our patients, staff and the community is our top priority,” said Jeffrey Rabrich, DO, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. “We are being pro-active about this community health emergency to assist with isolating cases of the measles, limiting potential exposure.”

Twiage provides for pre-hospital communication with first responders and Emergency Department (ED) staff, enabling for advance preparations of incoming patients. The hospital worked with Twiage to develop a new field that will help to identify patients with symptoms consistent with measles who may require isolated care.

“The new chief complaint field labeled Isolation was introduced so our ED staff could better respond to a potential measles case being brought to the Emergency Department,” said Dr. Rabrich.

When that field is utilized by a first responder, the corresponding display screen in the hospital is colored in blue, assisting with distinguishing potential incoming measles cases. The Isolation field also provides for more specific information related to potential measles cases, such as measles exposure, vaccination information and illness symptoms, including fever, rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes.

“Twiage’s configurable design and flexible infrastructure allow hospitals and EMS providers to customize clinical triage algorithms that suit their specific needs in a very short amount of time, so healthcare providers can better handle emergency situations like the measles outbreak in time,” said John Hui, Co-Founder & CEO of Twiage.

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