Guthrie Recognized as a 2026 Modern Healthcare Innovator

The Guthrie Clinic has been named a recipient of the 2026 Modern Healthcare Innovator Award, recognizing the system’s Pulse Center as a nationally innovative model transforming rural healthcare delivery.  

The Modern Healthcare Innovator Awards honor organizations that advance healthcare through bold, measurable innovation. Guthrie earned this distinction for its Pulse Center, a hybrid care model integrating virtual nursing, virtual ICU support, telesitting, centralized telemetry, transfer coordination and remote patient monitoring to improve access, quality, safety and workforce sustainability across its two-state rural service area.  

Guthrie implemented the Pulse Center model to address some of the challenges facing rural healthcare systems across the nation, including access to specialty care; workforce support and retention; and providing care when and where patients need it, close to home. 

Since its launch, the Pulse Center has delivered quantifiable systemwide results, including millions of dollars in annual savings, more than 10,000 hours of bedside nurse time returned and an average 135-minute reduction in emergency department–to–inpatient bed placement time. Telesitting contributed to an 87.5% reduction in major-injury falls, while virtual nursing reduced pressure injuries by 20.3%, shortened length of stay and helped ensure more than 45% of patients are discharged within 75 minutes systemwide.  

The model has drawn national attention and was explicitly highlighted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its Rural Health Transformation Plan as an innovative, scalable approach to addressing workforce shortages, rising patient acuity and access disparities in rural communities.  

“The Pulse Center represents a fundamental shift in how we support caregivers and deliver safe, high-quality care in rural communities,” said Dr. Edmund Sabanegh, President and CEO of The Guthrie Clinic. “This recognition affirms our belief that technology, when paired with strong clinical teams and thoughtful workflow design, can enhance, not replace, bedside care. We are proud to help shape the future of rural healthcare.”  

Since 2023, Guthrie has continuously scaled the Pulse Center, adding enterprise alarm monitoring, paramedicine support, case‑management services, remote patient monitoring and centralized security alerting. Future expansions include virtual emergency department triage, centralized scheduling and home health support — further demonstrating the model’s flexibility and scalability.  

Guthrie’s Pulse Center also advances innovation beyond its own system. Recognized with the 2023 ECRI Health Technology Excellence Award, the model serves as a national proof point for modern rural healthcare and is positioned for multi‑system adoption across Pennsylvania and beyond.