How One Health System’s Phased Approach Demonstrated the Benefits of Virtual Nursing
When bedside nurses are stretched thin, virtual nursing can help relieve pressure while improving patient care. One South Carolina health system recognized this challenge and set out to explore a new way to support both nurses and patients—without adding burden to already full teams.
Together, we launched a pilot program that introduced virtual nurses (VRNs) from VirtuAlly into care teams across four adult medical-surgical units within the system. The goal was simple: provide meaningful support to bedside nurses while improving the overall patient experience.
The pilot ran from October 2023 through March 2024, and the results spoke for themselves.
Four Units. Real-World Experience.
By implementing the pilot across four hospitals throughout South Carolina, we were able to see how virtual nursing worked in varied care environments—each with its own workflows, challenges, and patient needs.
This approach allowed us to adapt the model in real time, ensuring virtual nursing support met each unit where it was and complemented existing care teams rather than disrupting them.
A Flexible Model Designed Around Care Teams
Using a flexible model, we established a centralized command center alongside remote, work-from-home virtual nurses who partnered closely with in-hospital staff. Units onboarded VRN services on a rolling schedule, allowing support to scale as needed.
We focused on tasks that most often pull bedside nurses away from direct patient care, including:
- Patient admissions and discharges
- Care plan review and documentation
- Patient education and discharge readiness
- Quality surveillance and documentation compliance
Because our virtual nurses could flex coverage across multiple units, support was available when teams needed it most—without adding strain to bedside staff.
How Virtual Nursing Supports Bedside Teams
Over 5.5 months, virtual nurses became a steady layer of support across the participating units:
- 1,550 patients supported
- More than 800 admissions handled by VRNs
- 25.1 days returned to bedside nurses, giving them more time to focus on patient care
- Patient throughput increased by more than 35.3%, improving timely discharges across all sites
- Documentation compliance increased by up to 11.7% at two pilot hospitals
- Quality metrics improved, reinforcing the role of virtual nurses in delivering consistent, safe care
With this additional support in place, patients moved through the system more efficiently—even during peak census periods—and bedside nurses were able to focus on what matters most.
Virtual nurses became true partners and allies in care delivery.
Patients Felt the Difference
Patients noticed the impact of this added support. Across all four pilot sites, HCAHPS discharge information scores increased by as much as 10%, reflecting improved nurse engagement during the discharge process.
Patients reported feeling:
- Better informed
- More cared for throughout their hospital stay
These experiences can contribute to stronger outcomes—both during hospitalization and beyond.
A Scalable Solution for the Future of Care
This pilot program demonstrated how technology-enabled bedside nursing can provide meaningful, sustainable support for care teams—helping address workforce shortages while easing day-to-day pressure on nurses.
By standing alongside bedside teams, virtual nursing offers a scalable operational solution that improves care delivery today and helps health systems prepare for what’s ahead.
At VirtuAlly, we believe care teams shouldn’t have to carry the load alone—and this pilot shows what’s possible when they have virtual allies on their side.