Hello Friends 👋

Welcome to another episode of TECH TUESDAY 🥳. This week we feature AngelEye Health. AngelEye provides a complete HIPAA-compliant family engagement platform to integrate parents simply and seamlessly into the child’s care team. This is done through a set of solutions that include camera systems, an online education tool, milk tracker app, and a patient connect app. We believe that AngelEye is doing tremendous work and this is why we are happy to feature them on the show.

You can find out more about AngelEye Health at: https://www.angeleyehealth.com

Find the bio of the guests we have on today right here 👇

Justin French: Justin French is the Founder and Chief Technical Officer at AngelEye Health, a leading provider of tele-engagement solutions for the NICU and PICU environments. Justin founded AngelEye health in 2013 to deliver engagement solutions designed to bridge the gap between families and hospital care teams to ease workflows and offer a more positive hospital stay while elevating neonatal and pediatric patient outcomes. In his role as chief technical officer, French is responsible for AngelEye’s technical team, including software development, hardware development, production and technical customer support. Previously, French spent five years at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science as the applications systems analyst. French received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Jaylee Hilliard: Jaylee Hilliard, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPXP is Senior Director of Clinical Strategy at AngelEye Health where she is focused on supporting hospital and health system partnerships to deliver specialized patient and family support via state-of-the-art technology. In her role she drives product innovation and support development, leads the clinical team to effectively support healthcare leaders across the nation in technology optimization and supports hospitals in their pursuit of achieving the quadruple aim. Jaylee joined the organization in 2019 having accumulated more than a decade of progressive clinical experience previously including serving as Director of Neonatal Services and the pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program at McLane Children’s Baylor Scott & White Hospital. Most recently, Jaylee gained experience as a NICU parent after her daughter Everlee was born emergently at 32 weeks and 6 days, requiring a 25 day stay in the NICU.

The transcript of today's episode can be found below 👇

Ben 0:40

Welcome Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. It's another episode of Tech Tuesday Daphna, how are you today?

Daphna 0:51

I'm really excited. You know, I see that I just said that, though. Um, I see that every time we log in, but um, we're enjoying Tech Tuesday, we're getting a lot of feedback about people who were finding new things to get to get excited about maybe put in the in the their units. So. So we're happy to bring another episode?

Ben 1:11

I think I think so. I think as a as a techie myself, I think people are responding to the idea that we can actually have a platform to showcase a little bit some of the of the of the companies that are putting out some some cool solutions out there. today. We are joined by the team from Angel Eye Health. More specifically, we have with us Justin French, who's the Chief Technical Officer, how are you Justin, doing

Unknown Speaker 1:32

great. Thanks for having me.

Ben 1:34

Thank you for that pleasure. And and we have the pleasure of having jelly Hillard who is the Senior Director of Clinical Strategy, how are you jelly?

Speaker 3 1:42

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Ben 1:45

Oh, this is this is great. This is fun. I guess for the way we like to start Tech Tuesday is for the people who do not know anything about what Angela health is. Can you give us a little description as to what your company is what you guys do and and what are your goals?

Speaker 3 2:04

Sure, I'll take that one. So Angel Eye Health is a family engagement platform. And we have four solutions that work seamlessly together to provide one experience for families. And they could see their baby at the bedside through a camera that might be mounted there. We have a communication platform that says secure HIPAA compliant, one way photo, video and text messages. We have an education platform that ensures we deliver the right education to the right family at the right time. And most recently, we launched our fourth solution milk tracker, which is an end to end feeding and inventory management solution.

Ben 2:44

Wow. That's a that's quite, that's quite a lot. I mean, there's so many cool things in there. I think. Let's, let's start with the live stream video system that you guys are have which I think many units use, use some form of, of sometimes cameras to give parents an opportunity to see the babies in real time. Can you tell us a little bit about how the Angela health webcams are different? Or if they do anything different compared to other other solutions out there?

Speaker 4 3:13

Yeah, I mean, that's that's a great question. I appreciate that. I mean, aside from really our system being more than just a camera system, right? I mean, we do offer the entire platform. And we think that that's an entire experience that's really worth noting, our, our cameras are very high quality, we have a good latency there. So we don't have a lot of latency, it's very real time. And we do have a good low light quality and can actually offer complete darkness as well. So in the NICU setting, obviously, it's often all the way dark. And so we do have infrared capability there as well. So, yeah.

Ben 3:56

So it doesn't look like a security camera from 1965. Where the parents have to like really did. Its high res.

Daphna 4:06

Yeah, no, it's really neat. I actually am really excited about hearing about the the patient connect and features I know for for our unit, this is something that we're always looking to do provide kind of in real time updates in a way that is simple, right for, like our bedside nursing team, and easy for the parents to get and fast. So it looks like that fits fits all those qualifications.

Speaker 3 4:37

It does. I'm happy to share more about that if you'd like me to. And we're really, really proud of this solution. What we've learned from talking to healthcare professionals around the country, is that everyone really has that desire to keep families in the care team engaged and provide that continuity of communication, but it's really rare. or that staff have the tools, they need to do that in a really quick and efficient manner. So patient Connect allows the care team through any internet connected device, whether it's a workstation on wells, that computer, some of their portable devices that can download an app or even an iPad, to be able to really easily identify what family and patient they'd like to send a message to, and then be able to send a photo video or text message. And we've had some really incredible use cases, whether it's, you know, the providers doing rounds, and wanting to give that family a brief update on the plan of care for the day, or the progress that their child's making. And then also for staff to even be able to introduce themselves at the beginning of the shift, or for those referral centers. And many times, you know, our moms are unable to be there when their babies transferred to a higher level of care. So they can actually connect families before the parents are even able to be there with the baby, and maybe send them a message or a photo or video of the incredible care being provided by that outline facility.

Ben 6:09

I think I think this is critical. I mean, I want to I want to because I think if you talk about a way to communicate with families digitally, whether it's like, I mean, my understanding, and you tell me if I'm wrong, but it's it's you can pretty much send text messages and pictures to to the parents, I think many people may say, Oh, this is maybe not Is this the best way to communicate with families. But I think that so many times, I want to, if I want to have a very important discussion with the family, then you bring the family in, and you have a sit down in the room. But there's so many times where you want to give them an update. And you want to say hey, your baby's doing great today, and you try to call and you don't get an answer. And then you get busy. So you're like, alright, it's doing fine. And I tried to call this this parent already twice, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna move on. And hopefully I get around to it again. And many times, I don't get, I don't get around to it. And it would be amazing if I had an outlet to just keep sending these messages saying, hey, like I was trying to reach you today. But nobody's doing fantastic. This is what we're doing. I think this is this is really, really important. And I think this is where this, this app really fills a void. Can you tell us a little bit about if you are a clinician listening to this episode, or you're a nurse or your unit director, and you say, hey, I want to I want to get my patients hooked up to this app. How what is the process looking like for the for the users? Go ahead.

Speaker 4 7:29

Yeah, I mean, it's a really simple process, our entire system is cloud hosted other than the camera system itself. So the the installation time for, for standing up, let's say the patient connect and education components of this are very, very simple and easy. We also have, you know, single sign on, so it's very easy for staff to sign in using their hospital credentials and other features that make that a lot faster.

Ben 7:59

Right, that didn't mean to put you on the spot. And but I meant more of if you are a unit and you're like this is not something that you should like, Should you go on on the Google or iOS App Store and download an app? Or should you go on the website and schedule like a meeting to to get the unit set up? Like what is that that's more of the first steps and in case somebody wanted to reach out about about the solution specifically?

Speaker 4 8:23

Yeah, you can go to our website at Angel Eye health.com and schedule a demo. We're happy to reach out and start that conversation.

Ben 8:34

That's, that's great. That's great. The, I wanted to ask you also about so you have this this, again, this, this this palette of of tools, which I think are all all great. But can you tell us a little bit more about the milk scanning and inventory management app that you guys have? And what exactly is the purpose of this tool?

Unknown Speaker 8:55

I'm generally happy, perfect for that.

Speaker 3 8:58

I'm happy to take that one. So one of the unique things about our family engagement platform is we really wanted to take a holistic approach to the information that families needed while their child's in the NICU and ways that they can really have their needs met. As a parent, we know that when your child is admitted, there are so many things taken away from your experience. And you really don't have that sense of control or understanding about what might be happening. So after we had our camera solution, patient connect and online education, we started thinking of other ways that we could really round out our platform and engage with parents and providing breast milk or breastfeeding while their babies admitted was one of those logical next steps. So the unique thing about milk tracker is that through that same free application, where they're getting that information about their child, they also can log their pump sessions. And that's where or this milk Milk process starts. So they will get the labels from the hospital, they'll actually log their pump session in our application, and then scan their own milk bottles prior to bringing them into the unit. So our goal really was to engage parents into the feeding plan of their child while they were in the NICU. And we do that also by providing them support as well with their lactation journey. So we have the capability within milk tracker to do two way chatting between the lactation resources at the hospital, and the parent for any questions that they might have that are obviously non emergent. And then those pumping data and trends and analytics that are being input into the parent during each of their pumping sessions are all possible, also visible to the clinicians and care team that are there to support them. So if you're a lactation consultant, for example, and responsible for many moms, or families in your unit, you can easily see where they are in that pumping journey, and be able to pinpoint you know, what resources you need to allocate to them. If you notice, for example, the volume is trending lower than usual, or they've been pumping less than what you would anticipate. Yeah,

Daphna 11:17

I think that's awesome. I mean, obviously, this is helpful for people who are pumping. I mean, I know, you know, parents who aren't in the NICU are using apps just to log they're pumping in, you know, log that time, which side things like that. And so what I think the I mean, the major value add, though, is to the team to be able to see, you know, are we meeting some of those benchmark goals for prolong, you know, that predict prolonged breastfeeding. And if we can see that, you know, somebody's starting to bring less milk in we can, we can offer help and resources before it's too late. Which is really, really a problem for us. You know, sometimes we hear about it, but only when the milk supply is super low. And it's a little late to, to make any real interventions. Yeah, I think

Ben 12:11

I think this is, I think this app is really cool. Because it reminds me of of like the fitness apps that I have on my phone where you have to log your runs, you have to log your workouts and and you don't lock them because you're a nerd, and you just shoot just like a gym rat, but you know, I am sure that you love them so that you can say, hey, like I've done a good job this week, like right that went for like I went for like three runs and you see that you've you've done something and that you've accomplished and it keeps you motivated to keep going. And I think for breast feeding parents, it's very difficult to sometimes keep the momentum going. And I think the app by showing you that, hey, like, I'm actually doing a pretty good job here. Like this is pretty amazing. It keeps you going. And like Daphna was saying, for the clinicians to be able to have access to this information, I think is so critical, because you could implement resources and touch base with your parents saying, hey, like, what's going on? Are you is there any like, I don't know, maybe there's like another child at home, that's ill, and suddenly, the milk supply drops off. And it's an opportunity for the team to step in and really be there for these families, when they may not have the courage or they may not want to feel feel comfortable disclosing other issues in their lives like this might be an opportunity or a door to actually start a conversation. So I think this is this is tremendous. I mean, I really like that.

Speaker 3 13:30

It's great to hear that feedback. I actually became a NICU mom myself last year having my daughter early at 32 weeks. And I can tell you that it's really intimidating during rounds when you have a whole group of people coming by and asking you. So how is your pumping going, let's talk about your milk inventory. And I'm sitting there connected to the pump with this drape around me and all the care team. And I know that they want to ask from a supportive angle. But it can be really intimidating, to have so much pressure on you as the mom to provide that nutrition for your baby, when it's one of the only things you can really do as a parent when your child is admitted. So our hope is that milk tracker can really help bridge that gap for parents and allow them to have that support that they need. Whether they acknowledge that, you know they're having difficulties and need that support or not. But being able to really, like you've said, focus those resources on that on those moms that need more education, or encouragement. Or maybe they're embarrassed to ask a specific question about pumping, we can make that really easy to do in our application. The other thing I didn't mention that as a parent myself, I found myself doing was calling to ask how much milk was left because I was only on a feed by feed basis, trying to support 100% of her nutrition goals. And so our app also provides It's visibility into the inventory at the hospital and at home. So I could have just opened my app and easily seen that my daughter had enough milk for the next feeder to without having to call and interrupt the staff that are so busy taking care of patients in the unit.

Daphna 15:17

Well, and I mean, what you are alluding to also is giving more autonomy back to parents, right? And saying, like, I don't have to rely on somebody else to tell me if, you know if my the nutrition I made is enough for my baby, because I I know and we shouldn't be giving parents some of that. Responsibility is not the word but I think parents in the NICU are looking for ways to to act as the parent and they're looking for that responsibility. So I think that's really powerful. And Ben, you alluded to some things, you know, we don't do a good enough job of saying, like, You're doing a great job, right. And if you have that output, you can say, for yourself, like I am doing a great job, look at all those pumps, or it does allow the staff to then say, wow, look, really look at how much milk you pump. That's, that's phenomenal, which is, I think everything right to a new parent to to hear that you're doing it.

Ben 16:16

A buddy of mine give me a kudos on Strava for running a mile. And wouldn't that be nice, it's kind of nice.

Speaker 3 16:24

Exact same successes with your lactation journey too. For sure. The other important aspect to note about milk tracker is that it really is an end to end feeding and inventory management solution, not just engaging parents, but also being there as a great resource to dietitians, to milk techs, to the bedside staff that might be preparing those feeds. We know that there's so many times where feeding orders are becoming more and more complex for patients in the NICU. And that can be a really big challenge for the people that are responsible for storing, preparing, fortifying, you know, adding all kinds of different additives to this milk or even managing and handling donor milk. So our app uses a couple of things. One of them is we do an on site assessment and gap analysis with our clinicians working with the hospital's care team to identify all of the workflows and recipes and expectations that go in defeating handling, not just to make sure that the right baby's receiving the right milk, but that that the preparation of that milk is completed accurately as well. So that you know that when you place that order for your patient, and you track their weight gain or, you know, Isaiah knows that you can rely on what you've ordered as they're being fed. And we do that with our state of the art scanning technology. We also have bidirectional EHR integration, it can even compare with the current feeding order is with what's being fed to the patient. So if that feeding order changed, for example, from the time it was prepared, maybe hours before to right, then the staff have the opportunity to be aware that that change occurred.

Ben 18:16

I think this is great. I think this is great. I mean, we're running already a little bit low on time, but but I wanted to ask you so first of all, there's one more aspect of the palette of solutions that you guys have, which involves the education component. And I think I just want to make sure that we mentioned that because I think it's kind of nice, you have this library of of instructional videos, and and they touch on stuff that I think every parent always is seeking information on. Like, I mean, the one that I thought was great is like the infant carseat test, like, I mean, just like how to how to install a car seat and stuff like that. I mean, this is what parents really always ask about. Also, you have something about like infant CPR, which many parents have asked me like, Okay, I've seen the video that you guys show me, but like, what if I want to watch it again, like because I don't remember something? I think it's kind of nice that you have these, these, these items there. But there's also a lot of other things right, like feeding patterns and safe sleep at home. And so can you tell us a little bit about like, I mean, can you tell us a little bit about this, this tool specifically and how it is how it is built.

Unknown Speaker 19:24

Tralee, your clinical, you're the best I

Speaker 3 19:28

can add on any of the technical components that you guys would like to know. So one thing that's important to note about our Online Education solution is that we really are vendor agnostic. So if any hospital has a vendor that they're already working with, we work really well with them. We are really the mechanism to deliver that educational material regardless of if it's a video, a PDF, or a link to a website or support group for a family. We can do that through our online An education platform, it will alert families when there are new resources or education available. And we can even automate these processes for the care team to save time. So when we work with our hospital partners around the country, they communicate with us what different pieces of information they would like automatically sent when a patient is admitted. And then we have a library where we can really easily organize various education materials that would ordinarily be delivered by hand and a packet of papers or brochure. And we can basically digitize all of that, and deliver it to families throughout their stay, it can be diagnosis or procedure specific. So for example, if you know you're going to be consenting a family about a PICC line, or they have a new diagnosis, such as pneumonia, it would be really easy for someone to go in and assign that appropriate material. And then through the free Angel light app, the families receive a push notification, alerting them that they have new material to read. And then we really close that education loop with families by asking if they have any questions at the end of the delivery of any of those materials. So they have an opportunity to acknowledge that they understand or ask questions back to the staff. And then additionally, we provide a way to notate which educational materials and resources are required for discharge, to really help facilitate that transition to home for families, then, as you mentioned, there's so many different components of getting these families home, and educating them so that they feel well prepared. So we really want to delineate between what's required to take your baby home. And then what are some nice to have, you know, opportunities to learn more about equipment in the NICU or who you might be interacting with, for example,

Daphna 21:54

I think this is awesome. A year ago, I told Ben, we need a platform, so that we can send just in time information about new diagnoses to families, and this is exactly what you guys are doing. And what I think is super cool is that because it's an app that they keep on their phone, it sounds like they can access it indefinitely post discharge. So it's basically you know, collated medical information based on their babies individual diagnoses, which is so valuable, because sometimes they leave and they forget, because there's so much other stuff going on. What What were those diagnoses, like? What did happen during some of those hazy times in the in the NICU? Right, because the stay is so long and so stressful. And then obviously, in terms of preparing parents for for discharge. And this sounds like it would help save staff a lot of time to super cool. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Ben 22:57

Thank you, Justin. Thank you, Jay. This was phenomenal. I mean, we're going to, for anybody listening and who's interested in partnering with Angela, you can you can find out more information at www dot Angelite health.com. We're going to post on the on the page for this episode, all the links and some of the brochures that are available on the website and the contact information for your teams for anybody interested in reaching out. But congratulations on on an amazing set of solutions that I think are direly needed in our industry considering how we're supposed neonatology. We're supposed to be the techie of the hospital. So it's time that we, that we we use some of the technology that's out there. So thank you very much.

Speaker 4 23:39

No, I just really appreciate you guys having us on. And yeah, thank you.

Disclosure: The incubator and CATO Neonatal Innovations Inc. have no conflict of interest to report concerning our interview with Jaylee Hilliard, Justin French, and AngelEye Health.