CLEARLAKE, Calif. – With construction well under way on the addition of a new Emergency Department at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake (SHCL), hospital administrators continue their progressive approach of bringing new resources, technology and services to the community.

“I am excited to announce that we have partnered with iTriage, a mobile device app and Web site which gives community members resources to help take better care of their health,” said Vice President of Operations David Santos.

iTriage was founded in 2008 by two emergency medicine physicians who saw an opportunity with the iPhone to empower consumers to take control and more effectively manage their personal health care.

“Community members who take advantage of iTriage and the corresponding Web site will be able to create personalized profiles which will enhance their experience and usefulness of the app,” said Santos. “You can customize by gender, age, medical history, include your medical records, learn about medication, keep track of your appointments, and include your insurance information. An additional feature is ER Check-In.”

Director of Emergency Services at SHCL, Berta Kaemmerling, RN, is excited to make the service available.

“ER Check-In is easy to use and provides our emergency department staff with information about the patient, such as what symptoms they may be experiencing, to help us prepare for their arrival. All patients are going to be seen in order of severity, and letting us know you’re coming is not the same thing as setting an appointment. If you’re experiencing a severe medical emergency you should still contact 911.”

Another valuable feature of iTriage is physician to physician emergency department referrals.

“If I have a patient that contacts me in the middle of the night with chest pain, I can tell them to call 911 and at the same time get on iTriage and inform the emergency department the patient is coming,” said Monica Divakaruni, M.D., a local interventional cardiologist.

If you have a smartphone you can download the iTriage app in iTunes or Google Play. You can also take full advantage of iTriage online at www.itriagehealth.com .