ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Specialists On Call, Inc. (SOC), the leading provider of clinical telemedicine services, today announced that it has launched emergency telepsychiatry services in the state of Florida and will provide around-the-clock emergency psychiatric on-call coverage to Florida Hospital Zephyrhills. This partnership will provide Zephyrhills’ most critical psychiatric patients with 24/7/365 access to board-certified psychiatrists.
Florida Hospital Zephyrhills is a 154-bed acute care, not-for-profit, community hospital serving Zephyrhills and the surrounding areas in Pasco County. The hospital has both an inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services program and SOC’s telepsychiatry service will bolster the facility’s treatment capabilities with 24/7/365 access to an elite team of psychiatrists. Specialists On Call’s telepsychiatry service provides hospitals with on-call emergency psychiatric coverage for any psychiatric emergency, performed within 1 hour of initial contact from the hospital.
“We are committed to providing the best clinical treatment options available and we’re excited to offer another high quality service to our patients and our local community,” said Douglas Duffield, CEO of Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.“Specialists On Call strengthens our already strong behavioral health services program and helps increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our treatments.”
“We are thrilled to provide an affordable, reliable, cutting edge service that extends access to emergency psychiatric care for all of Florida’s behavioral health patients,” said Dr. Alby Penalver, SOC’s Psychiatry Medical Director. “Telemedicine allows us to reduce psychiatric healthcare disparities and inefficiencies and helps acute cases, including Baker Act patients, receive excellent emergency psychiatric care in a timely manner.”
“With every chance we get to grow our service offerings, we get the opportunity to extend access to state of the art care to emergency patients that otherwise have to do without,” said Dr. Joe Peterson, CEO of Specialists On Call. “Since most Florida hospitals lack both the physical resources and the psychiatrists needed to treat the state’s growing emergency psychiatric population, we are able to make a substantial clinical and financial difference for all parties involved. We look forward to collaborating with Florida Hospital Zephyrills to increase emergency psychiatric resources available to patients throughout Florida.”
About Florida Hospital Zephyrhills
Florida Hospital Zephyrhills is a 154-bed, full service, mission-driven facility which primarily serves East Pasco County, including Zephyrhills, Dade City, San Antonio, Wesley Chapel and the surrounding area. Their award-winning Heart Institute is the only Tampa Bay Area Hospital to receive the 2010 Healthgrades Excellent Award for Coronary Intervention. The only nationally accredited chest pain center in East Pasco County, the Heart Institute is also one of ten nationally accredited heart failure hospitals in the country. Florida Hospital Zephyrhills has an expanded, upgraded and all-digital Emergency Department with the only voice recognition technology in East Pasco County, their Imaging Center provides physicians with the fastest, most accurate results in the area, helping to ensure timely treatments when needed. They are also the only area hospital performing digital stereotactic breast biopsies. The Hospital’s Orthopaedic & Spine Institute provides general orthopaedic surgery, pain management and rehabilitation medicine, podiatric surgery and Imaging. Florida Hospital Zephyrhills continues to expand its base of employed physician partners. The Medical Group of Tampa Bay (MGTB) currently includes Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Geriatric, OB/GYN, Orthopaedics, Pain Management, Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine, Podiatry, Pulmonology, Sleep Medicine, Hospitalists, Urology and Geriatric physicians.
For more information please visit www.fhzeph.org
About Specialists On Call
Specialists On Call, Inc. (SOC), is a Joint Commission-accredited organization that is changing emergency medicine. As the leading provider of emergency telemedicine consultations, SOC gives hospitals vital 24/7/365 access to more than 45 board certified, fellowship trained academic specialists, each with a minimum of 10 years experience. With operations on both coasts, SOC provides more than 1,000 emergency consultations per month for hospitals nationwide and hospital systems such as Vanguard Health Systems, HCA, Inc. and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.
For more information please visit www.specialistsoncall.com