Atrium Health Stanly has been awarded a $1.45 million grant from The Duke Endowment to launch a virtual nursing program for the hospital. Courtesy Atrium Health

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ALBEMARLE — Atrium Health Stanly in Albemarle has been awarded a $1.45 million grant from The Duke Endowment to help launch the first all-wired virtual nursing program and facility in rural North Carolina.

Atrium Health announced in a July 11 press release that its Atrium Health Foundation is the beneficiary of $4 million — the largest gift it has received from The Duke Endowment — through five grants to assist in advancing the health care network’s “commitments to uplifting the communities it serves and advancing rural health initiatives.”

The Albemarle hospital’s award is the largest of the five grants given by the Charlotte-based private foundation that operates as a charitable trust.

“We are grateful to The Duke Endowment for embracing Atrium Health’s forward-thinking approach to meeting our evolving needs for nursing care,” said Marietta Abernathy, facility executive for Atrium Health Stanly. “Having cameras in every room will enable our bedside nurses to focus on direct patient care while virtual nurses provide continuous monitoring and timely interventions, helping to reduce hospital readmissions and improve outcomes.”

For more than three decades, The Duke Endowment has financially supported health care initiatives at Atrium Health to the tune of over $50 million in grants to Atrium Health Foundation.

“We share Atrium Health’s commitment to ensuring access to care in communities where people live and work,” said Lin Hollowell, director of health care at The Duke Endowment. “Whether through supporting emerging technologies or enhancing existing programs, together we can make a profound impact on our communities for generations to come.”

Based on the virtual nursing program implemented across Advocate Health, Atrium’s parent organization, Atrium Health Stanly plans to use digital technology to provide high-quality care to the community.

The virtual nursing program is expected to create 50 new jobs in Stanly County while offering benefits for both patients and care teams.

Through philanthropic support, Atrium Health has also expanded access to care by placing virtual clinics in over 200 schools across 10 N.C. counties that serve both rural and urban communities.

To help modernize scheduling for the program, The Duke Endowment awarded a $775,000 grant to develop a user-friendly mobile app and web-based platform which will streamline workflow and improve communication between schools and Atrium Health.

“We are building upon the successes of the Atrium Health Cabarrus Family Medicine Residency Program, which embeds residents in clinics to provide maternity and primary care access,” said Dr. Erika Steinbacher, designated institutional official of Atrium Health Cabarrus and vice-chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. “We aim to refine this model and replicate it for recruiting, training and retaining physicians in other rural communities we serve.”