WellSpan Health

WellSpan Health faced a critical nursing shortage exacerbated by COVID-19, leaving nurses with unsustainable workloads and heavy administrative burdens. Traditional staffing models required costly 1:1 in-person sitters for high-risk patients, draining resources while not addressing documentation overhead. Leadership needed to modernize care delivery to improve nurse retention, job satisfaction, and patient safety simultaneously.

WellSpan deployed Artisight's Smart Hospital Platform combining computer vision, multi-sensor networks, voice recognition, and vital sign monitoring across patient rooms. Two core modules were implemented: Virtual Observer (nursing assistants remotely monitoring patients for falls, confusion, and safety risks) and Virtual Nursing (extending bedside nurse capacity for documentation, assessments, and patient education). The platform uses site-specific AI algorithms tailored to each facility's workflows, freeing up to 30 minutes per shift from repetitive documentation tasks.

Following the August 2023 pilot at a high-traffic rehabilitation center, fall rates dropped 52% and median 1:1 sitter hours fell 92%, dramatically optimizing staff allocation. Patient satisfaction at discharge rose from the 26th to the 56th percentile, while nurse communication scores climbed from the 20th to the 56th percentile. 86% of nursing staff reported improved safety on the unit, and WellSpan subsequently committed to expanding the platform system-wide across 1,000 patient beds.

• Computer vision-based virtual observation can substitute for costly 1:1 in-person sitters at scale while improving — not just maintaining — patient safety outcomes.
• Nurse-facing AI that reduces administrative burden (documentation, non-clinical tasks) measurably improves both staff satisfaction and patient experience scores.
• Piloting in a high-acuity, high-traffic unit (rehabilitation) provides rapid, credible proof-of-concept that justifies full system expansion.