FARGO (AP) - Sandy Vogel, a home health nurse, can keep tabs daily on the vital signs of patient Lucille Duval without going to the 92-year-old's Fargo apartment. Lucille does that herself, with help from a monitoring device the size of a radio-clock alarm that rests on a stand by her bedside.

The results readings for blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels and weight are sent via telephone line to a computer at a Fargo MeritCare nursing station.

"It saves some trips and lets us keep a close eye on them because we can watch their vitals," says Vogel, who also makes twice weekly visits to help her patient recover from a recent hospital stay.

MeritCare began testing the monitors last fall, and has used them with about 20 patients at a time. One motivation for the trial: high gas prices.

The monitoring program is one of the more novel steps home health providers in the area are taking to increase efficiency in an effort to save mileage and time.

Most are working harder to group visits by geographical area to save on gas, whenever possible.

Public health nurses in Cass and Clay counties report that they haven't altered their operations for nursing visitation programs so far because of high gas prices.

Some programs are feeling a pinch from high gas prices, however. In Stark County in southwestern North Dakota, for example, the county social services director predicts his mileage budget for home health visits will be spent by October or November.

"I don't see it as a huge crisis," says Larry Bernhardt. He expects to juggle money from other accounts to keep the visits going so his 4½ in-home care specialists can continue serving their elderly and disabled clients.

MeritCare's home monitoring results have been encouraging patient outcomes actually have improved since nurse visits were augmented with the monitors, says Jo Burdick, who manages the health system's home care program.

"We know we're decreasing the miles we're driving," she says. Her nurses, based in five locations, visit more than 800 patients in a 25-county area of North Dakota and Minnesota.

Given the favorable results, Burdick plans to expand the use of the monitors, which should help save more time and mileage in the future, she says.

Most patients have readily adapted to the monitors, which have a female voice that guides users through the steps, concluding with a reminder to take their medications as prescribed.

Duval, herself a former home health aid, was happy to have the monitor. Daily vital sign reports gave her peace of mind and made her feel more connected to the nurse at the other end who is keeping tabs on her health.

"I've often thought of how much it has evolved over the years," Duval says of home health services. She was a pioneering home health aide when she started 40 years ago. "We did a lot of driving."

So does Vogel, who usually drives 80 to 100 miles a week visiting patients in Fargo-Moorhead. It sometimes tops 200 miles when her calls take her to rural areas.