Sanford Health to scale virtual nursing

AONL member Erica DeBoer, MA, RN, says virtual nurses improve care by providing another set of eyes to address patient needs more quickly. DeBoer, senior vice president and CNO of Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, S.D., views virtual nursing as a recruitment and retention tool to support care and patient safety. Sanford schedules nurses for two floor shifts and one virtual shift to enable patients and floor nurses to know the virtual nurse and better anticipate needs. Sanford may use virtual nursing at its skilled nursing and rehab facilities and in patients’ homes to reduce the need for patients to travel long distances to receive care. Sanford wants to permit doctors, specialists and social workers to use the technology, too. (HealthLeaders Media article, 5/20/25)