Holistic approach to innovation helps improve patient safety and experience
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
SAN JOSE, Calif.
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The new patient tower at Dayton Children's Hospital features the
latest technology, helping doctors and nurses transform care and provide
a better healthcare experience for patients and families. Among the
hospital’s list of transformative technology are hands-free
communication badges and a secure texting application by Vocera
Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical
communication and workflow solutions.
The 155-bed multi-specialty pediatric hospital recently opened its new
260,000-square-foot patient tower. During the move to the new facility,
care team members used Vocera technology to stay connected and easily
communicate, ensuring a safe and smooth transition of more than 40
children from four units.
“The children love the Vocera badges. They call them our Star Trek
buttons! And our nurses love them, too, because they allow instant
communication to the rest of the staff, which is incredibly important in
a fast-paced mobile environment.” said Jayne Gmeiner, chief
nursing officer at Dayton Children’s Hospital. “We selected Vocera
knowing that the company was aligned with our mission and that its
solutions would simplify patient and care team communication. We also
knew Vocera could meet our growing and evolving workflow needs now and
in the future.”
The hospital, which has more than 300,000 patient visits a year, has integrated
the Vocera hands-free technology with the
Hill-Rom®
NaviCare® Nurse Call system. Pillow speakers connect patients
directly to their nurse via the Vocera badge they are wearing. The child
can simply push a button for “pain” or “potty,” and the nurse is alerted
with context, enabling the caregiver to respond verbally, immediately
and appropriately. Helping care teams improve patient safety, Vocera
technology directly integrates with the Hill-Rom NaviCare® Nurse Call
system to receive bed exit and chair exit alerts as well as code-blue
alarms, ventilators alerts, and a variety of patient calls and requests.
The Vocera solution also directly integrates with GetWellNetwork®,
Inc., the leader in Interactive Patient Care™ (IPC) solutions. When
a patient or family member provides a comment or request through
GetWellNetwork's bedside solution, an alert is sent to the child’s
nurse. The system can also alert partners in care, including dietary,
child life specialists and environmental services, if an issue requires
immediate attention.
“While our clinical and communication systems are high-tech, our goal is
to make the patient experience high-touch,” said Gmeiner. “With instant
communication and immediate feedback, we are better able to connect with
patients and families and take care of their needs faster.”
An integration with Vocera and the hospital’s telephone system also
makes it easier and faster for patients or families to connect with a
specific caregiver. Using the landline phone in the hospital room, a
patient or loved one can simply dial 111 to reach the assigned nurse via
their wearable badge, 222 for the certified nursing assistant, or 333
for respiratory therapy.
The hospital has plans for additional integrations between its clinical
and communication systems, including interfaces between Vocera
technology and the hospital’s electronic health records (EHR) and
physiologic monitoring systems. With more than 2,400 employees and more
than 400 physicians, the hospital also expects to standardize
communication across all care teams using the Vocera communication
platform to unify disparate people, processes and solutions.
Secure texting using the Vocera smartphone app is also underway among
hospital medicine physicians, which is expected to improve communication
and collaboration. In addition to allowing users to call or text by name
or role, the Vocera smartphone app enables group messages for regulatory
walk-through, admissions and consults, using pre-defined messaging
templates that promote standards and predictable outcomes. Vocera
smartphone app users can easily add others to messaging conversations,
and messages can be securely forwarded to other users. The app also
enables content management via a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
Additionally, the on-call schedule within the intelligent rules engine
ensures proper staffing and communication distribution.
“I am so impressed by the holistic, thoughtful approach that Dayton
Children’s Hospital took to elevate care, safety and satisfaction,” said
Brent Lang, president and CEO of Vocera. “Hospital leaders clearly
designed the new pediatric tower with input from patients, families and
staff. The infrastructure supports innovative technology, while the
environment enables meaningful human-to-human connections. We are
honored to support the hospital in its mission to deliver world-class
pediatric care.”
About Dayton Children’s Hospital
One of only 45 independent freestanding children's hospitals in the
country, Dayton Children's is the region's only medical facility
dedicated to children. Accredited by The Joint Commission and serving 20
Ohio counties and eastern Indiana, the experts at Dayton Children's care
for 300,000 children each year. Consistently recognized as one of the
country's best and most cost-effective pediatric hospitals, Dayton
Children's is home to the Wright State University Boonshoft School of
Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and together with the United States
Air Force shares the nation's only civilian-military integrated
pediatric training program. For more children's health and
safety information, visit our web site at www.childrensdayton.org.
About Vocera
The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve
the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling
hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In
2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way
care teams communicate. Today, Vocera continues to offer the leading
platform for clinical communication and workflow. More than 1,400
hospitals and health systems around the world have selected our
solutions for care teams to text securely using smartphones or make
calls with our hands-free, wearable Vocera Badge. Interoperability
between Vocera and more than 150 clinical systems helps reduce alarm
fatigue, speed up staff response times, and improve patient care, safety
and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury
hotels, nuclear facilities, libraries, retail stores and more. Vocera
makes a difference in any industry where workers are on the move and
need to connect instantly with team members and access resources or
information quickly. Learn more at www.vocera.com,
and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.
The Vocera logo is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. Vocera®
is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United
States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this
release are the property of their respective owners.
Vocera Communications, Inc.
Shanna Hearon, 865-769-2028
shearon@vocera.com