Eagle Telemedicine Adds Clinical Leader and Business Development Director as Hospitals Clamor for Inpatient Telehealth Medicine Services

Increased Acceptance of Telehealth Medicine Programs and Long-standing Physician Shortage Compel Company to Expand Staff

ATLANTA, Ga. (March 11, 2021) — Eagle Telemedicine announced today that Dr. Sheetal Patel has accepted the role of Regional Medical Director and welcomes Donna Jennings as Regional Director of Business Development.

Dr. Patel joins Dr. Ellie Basaly as Eagle Telemedicine’s second Regional Medical Director, which will allow the company to work more closely with administrators and medical directors at hospitals using telehealth medicine services. In this role, Dr. Patel will:

• Advise and consult with hospital administrators and medical directors on the use of telemedicine.
• Develop processes and guidelines as necessary for Eagle Telemedicine physicians to allow ensure consistent and high quality patient care.
• Perform clinical oversight of telehealth medicine programs located in the southeast.
• Train new telemedicine physicians.

“With four years of service as a TeleHospitalist at Eagle, Dr. Patel has demonstrated her commitment to providing exceptional patient care and ability to train new physician,” said Dr. Talbot “Mac” McCormick, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Telemedicine. “This role will allow her to develop and deploy clinical strategies to better serve Eagle Telemedicine clients, their patients, and communities.”

During Dr. Patel’s tenure at Eagle Telemedicine, the company launched training initiatives, developed telemedicine technology to improve the efficiency of remote care, and expanded protocols to work more effectively with onsite clinical teams and the patient’s they serve. Dr. Patel is responsible for training and onboarding many Eagle physicians. She also has experience guiding onsite and remote staff on hospital procedures and performing in-depth training on various the electronic medical records (EMR) systems.

“I was lucky to have a mentor to guide me through my first night as a telemedicine physician. Mentorship is very beneficial,” says Dr. Sheetal Patel. “Now, I lead the effort to mentor physicians transitioning to telemedicine. There are specific protocols for how and when to use telemedicine at each hospital. I train new providers on these protocols.”

In their everyday work with hospital partners, Eagle physicians, like Dr. Patel, are integrated into the clinical workflow at each facility. The remote, telehealth medicine providers adapt to the unique needs of each location, and become part of the hospital’s medical staff, trained to document, chart and order like local physicians.  The regional hospitalist medical director acts as a conduit between the facility and the TeleHospitalists to guarantee seamless patient care in a virtual environment.

The company’s focus on healthcare leadership and clinical experience also prompted the selection of Donna Jennings for the role of Regional Director of Business Development for the southwestern United States, including Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Donna has more than 20 years of experience as a healthcare leader, clinical operations specialist and telehealth medicine consultant. She is also registered respiratory therapist.

“As the co-founder of a telemedicine programming solutions company, I worked with hospitals and health systems to implement primary and specialty care telemedicine services,” says Donna Jennings. “This experience combined with my work as a respiratory therapist allows me to relate to both the needs of administrators and the staff that will coordinate with the telemedicine physicians to provider patient care.”

“Hospitals across the country are looking to Eagle for guidance to help transition telemedicine programs which were set-up to respond to COVID-19 into long-term solutions that deliver cost efficiencies and high quality healthcare,” said Jason Povio, President and Chief Operating Officer at Eagle Telemedicine. “Donna’s consulting background and clinical experience will advance our goal of designing telehealth medicine programs that meet the needs of our hospital partners and expand access to patient care.”

Dr. Patel has been practicing hospital medicine for almost 20 years and telemedicine for four years. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and licensed in 9 states. She completed an Internal Medicine residency program at Berkshire Medical Center in western Massachusetts in 2003. Dr. Patel served as an associate professor of medicine with the University of Massachusetts and as a medical director for a large health system in North Carolina prior to her transition into telemedicine in 2016. Dr. Patel is currently “beaming in” to provide TeleHospitalist coverage from the Charlotte, N.C.

Donna Jennings was co-founder VALIS, Inc., a telemedicine programming solutions company. She has served in numerous quality and performance improvement; clinical operations; and compliance roles during her career. Donna served as the chief operating officer and vice president of ancillary services at Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Norton, Va. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Bluefield State College and a Master of Business Administration from Averett University.

These positions will accelerate Eagle Telemedicine’s ability to provide hospitals with solutions and tools to optimize patient outcomes.