Using high-resolution video and audio systems, UC Davis Health System delivers high-quality critical care medical consultations to physicians and nurses who respond to pediatric emergencies in rural hospitals as far as 210 miles north of Sacramento (Mercy Medical Centers in Redding and Mt. Shasta).

The service links pediatric intensivists at the UC Davis Medical Center to the remote site's critical care physicians whenever acutely ill or injured children arrive in their emergency room. Telemedicine units, located at the hospitals and in the homes of the UC Davis pediatric critical care specialists, allow for consultations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Conferencing via telemedicine fills an important gap for pediatricians who provide primary care services in Redding," says Craig Traugott, director of pediatric and neonatal services at Mercy Medical Center. "The ability to consult with a pediatric critical care specialist in our own emergency room or intensive care unit when the need arises fills in the information gap and is very reassuring."

For more information, please contact Shelley Palumbo at shelley.palumbo@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu or (916) 734-0433.