When you or a loved one\u00a0is\u00a0admitted to the hospital\u2019s medical-surgery\u00a0unit\u00a0(med-surg), St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network has an\u00a0award-winning extra\u00a0layer of care.<\/p>\n
All med-surg units at St. Luke\u2019s use\u00a0a proprietary artificial intelligence\u00a0(AI)\u00a0tool\u00a0to\u00a0predict,\u00a0identify\u00a0and\u00a0rapidly\u00a0address\u00a0the needs of its\u00a0admitted or under-observation patients to\u00a0reduce\u00a0unanticipated transfers to the ICU\u00a0\u2013 and save lives.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0like a superhero sidekick:\u00a0AI\u00a0that watches over people in the hospital every second of every day, awake or sleeping.<\/p>\n
This tool looks at metrics such as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, lab work, patient\u00a0age\u00a0and nursing documentation in real time at all 16 St. Luke\u2019s campuses.<\/p>\n
The information is transmitted to the St. Luke\u2019s Virtual Response Center, which is staffed\u00a0by a team of registered nurses who, depending upon a patient\u2019s deterioration score, can alert the patient\u2019s bedside nurse, a nursing supervisor, or in the more rapidly deteriorating patients, alert St. Luke\u2019s rapid response team (RRT) to identify and treat patients early, before they require transfer to the ICU or have a sudden cardiac arrest in the med-surg unit.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, St.\u00a0Luke’s\u00a0utilization of\u00a0the AI tool called\u00a0Epic\u2019s\u00a0Deterioration Index\u00a0was recognized by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP)\u00a0with a 2025\u00a0\u201cIn Safe Hands\u201d Achievement\u00a0Award\u201d for the initiative\u00a0that\u00a0provided\u00a0significant measurable gains in operational,\u00a0quality\u00a0and financial metrics\u00a0while reducing cardiac arrest\u00a0events, overall morbidity and mortality.<\/p>\n
This proactive approach led to a 34% reduction in cardiac arrests and a 12% drop in rapid response transfers\u00a0to the ICU, with survival rates climbing from 24% to 36%.<\/p>\n
Beyond clinical outcomes, the Deterioration Index\u00a0predictive model\u00a0has\u00a0helped to\u00a0deliver measurable\u00a0budgetary impact, saving $1.75 million in 2024 by avoiding unnecessary ICU transfers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHumans could essentially calculate\u00a0these\u00a0risk\u00a0scores,\u201d said Julie\u00a0Tanhauser, Information Technology Strategic Planner at St. Luke\u2019s, \u201cbut we\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0continuously do it every second for every patient among\u00a0hundreds of\u00a0patients on\u00a0our\u00a016 campuses.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0your AI\u00a0piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Deterioration Index transforms patient safety through predictive analytics.<\/p>\n
Today, the\u00a0initiative is deeply embedded in\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s workflow for\u00a0physicians,\u00a0nurses\u00a0and advanced practitioners so they are alerted\u00a0immediately\u00a0when a\u00a0patient’s\u00a0Deterioration Index\u00a0score crosses critical\u00a0thresholds before\u00a0something goes critically wrong, allowing providers and nurses a chance to intervene faster with the proper treatment.<\/p>\n
As part of the Network\u2019s broader AI strategy, the\u00a0Deterioration Index\u00a0exemplifies how machine learning can be responsibly integrated into care delivery, improving outcomes while\u00a0still\u00a0preserving\u00a0and enhancing\u00a0clinician judgment.<\/p>\n
This initiative has\u00a0enhanced\u00a0patient care outcomes by improving survival rates,\u00a0diminishing\u00a0unexpected ICU\u00a0transfers,\u00a0and lowering\u00a0code blue\u00a0(cardiac arrests)\u00a0incidents over a period of three fiscal years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than $4.5 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n The Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 50+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 500+ residents and fellows.<\/p>\n St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. It is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. In 2025, the Network earned straight A\u2019s from Leapfrog across all of its 11 acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 11 years in a row, including in 2021 when its flagship University Hospital was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you or a loved one\u00a0is\u00a0admitted to the hospital\u2019s medical-surgery\u00a0unit\u00a0(med-surg), St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network has an\u00a0award-winning extra\u00a0layer of care. All med-surg units at St. Luke\u2019s use\u00a0a proprietary artificial intelligence\u00a0(AI)\u00a0tool\u00a0to\u00a0predict,\u00a0identify\u00a0and\u00a0rapidly\u00a0address\u00a0the … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s Uses AI in Hospitals to Head Off Cardiac Arrest and Other Problems<\/span>
\nGary Blockus<\/p>\n