 Administration and staff at Boone County Hospital make patient safety and quality initiatives a priority. It is crucial that each patient is taken care of efficiently and effectively. Any delays or misinformation regarding equipment, medication or care plans means patients, nurses and physicians are kept waiting and the quality of care deteriorates.
Recently, the long awaited hospital-wide communication system, also known as a wireless telephone system, was put into place at the hospital. The hope is the new system will improve communication, as well as make patient care run more smoothly.
Thanks to contributions from the BCH Foundation, the BCH Volunteer Auxiliary, and the Leonard Good Trust, the hospital was able to purchase the new system. “It fell right in line with our mission of providing resources to the hospital for equipment, services or programs that would otherwise not be possible,” says Mike Scheuermann, BCH Foundation Board President.
The new ASCOM-DECT wireless telephone system is simple. There are 16 handsets with voice, alarm and messaging options. As staff come on duty, they clip the phone to their uniform and it serves the same concept as a cell phone, however, it will only work within the hospital. Special “base stations” have been strategically placed within the hospital. It serves as a wireless handheld voice communication system between the staff and the patients in the hospital. Patients can call into the nurse’s hand held device providing direct and individualized patient care.
This system also allows physicians and other hospital staff to contact nurses directly. “Before this system, we had to track nurses down in patient rooms if a doctor or the pharmacy had a question for her or him,” says Denise Turner, Director of Inpatient Services. “This system is much more effective and truly streamlines our patient care to yet another level of quality.”
Pictured, left to right: Denise Dykstra and Kim Smith with a patient
|