Avel eCare, the nation’s leading Virtual Health System, is supporting rural hospitals and healthcare organizations across Minnesota in addressing workforce shortages, chronic disease management, and financial pressures through virtual care infrastructure. With more than 30 years of experience delivering virtual care, Avel eCare supports healthcare organizations across 46 states through a clinician-to-clinician telemedicine model designed to support patients throughout the full continuum of care.
Avel’s integrated Virtual Health System includes emergency and trauma telemedicine support, inpatient and ICU virtual care, hospitalist services, behavioral health services, virtual pharmacy services, EMS telemedicine in the field, specialty consultations, and senior care support. Founded in 1993 as the nation’s first virtual hospital, the organization has demonstrated long-term sustainability, with many grant-funded and transformation-focused programs continuing well beyond their original funding periods due to measurable operational and clinical value. The model helps rural healthcare organizations create more sustainable systems of care while supporting clinicians, improving patient access, and reducing unnecessary transfers outside the community.
According to Dr. Kelly Rhone, Chief Medical Officer at Avel eCare, the Virtual Health System is designed to strengthen the local care team and help hospitals create sustainable models. Avel’s approach is designed not to replace local clinicians but to extend and strengthen the existing workforce while helping organizations maintain high-quality care standards. The telemedicine model helps reduce reliance on expensive locum tenens staffing and contract labor while improving workforce support during high-acuity cases and overnight coverage. Minnesota healthcare organizations evaluating Rural Health Transformation Program opportunities can use Avel as a strategic implementation partner to help establish scalable virtual care programs that support compliance, workforce stabilization, specialty access, and care coordination requirements.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.financialcontent.com/article/accwirecq-2026-5-13-minnesota-hospitals-positioned-to-strengthen-rural-care-through-rural-health-transformation-opportunities