Eli Kent

Eli Kent with his father doing virtual visitA Virtual Video Visit saved 10-year-old Eli Kent and his parents, Nicky and Alisha, a trip to Fulton Medical Clinic when he developed a bacterial infection in his tracheostomy. Eli has spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress (SMARD) and is on a ventilator. “Exposing him to coronavirus could turn into a death sentence for someone like Eli,” Alisha says. She called Fulton Medical Clinic and was offered a Virtual Video Visit with Eli’s nurse practitioner, Matt Taylor. “Unfortunately, this is pretty routine for us,” Alisha says. “About every six to eight months, we battle pseudomonas around his trach.”

Using a smartphone, Eli’s parents showed Matt the gauze around his trach, which had changed color because of the infection. They took Eli’s  temperature and showed Matt his heart rate on the monitor. Matt was able to diagnose Eli and prescribe the necessary medications. “It was super handy,” says Alisha. “I’ve been hoping for something like a Virtual Video Visit for years. I will use this anytime I can rather than have to expose Eli.”