Nemours Children's Hospital Puts Patients At Ease With Rauland, Versus, GetWellNetwork

Integrated technologies instantly inform patients about their caregivers when they enter room

Nemours Children’s Hospital has brought together a unique combination of nurse call, real-time locating system (RTLS) and patient engagement technology to help put children and their families at ease.

When Nemours, an internationally recognized children’s health system, was planning to open their new, 630,000 square-foot facility in Orlando, Fla., they brainstormed ideas for 21^st-century care.

One of their ideas — what if when a doctor or nurse walked into the patient’s room, their name, title and photo immediately appeared on the room’s television? And further, what if families could view a log of all the caregivers who came into their child’s room during the day?

When the hospital opened in October 2012, this futuristic idea was reality, thanks to collaboration between Nemours and three of its vendors: Rauland-Borg Corporation of Florida (RBF), Versus Technology, Inc. and GetWellNetwork, Inc.

RBF was already installing Versus’ RTLS as part of the Responder 5 Nurse Call System, which intelligently routes patient calls for assistance to the right nurses. When wearing Versus locator badges, nurses no longer need to remember to press a button to cancel those calls. Using a combination of infrared and radio-frequency (RFID) technology, the locating system automatically identifies the nurse’s presence in the patient room so she can immediately tend to the patient’s needs.

Through the patient’s bedside TV, GetWellNetwork was providing their Interactive Patient Care solution to engage patients and families with educational content and information about their hospital stay.

“The nurses love Responder with the RTLS call cancellation, but we knew we could take the technology further,” says Elizabeth Rodriguez, Application Support Supervisor and member of Nemours’ Bedside Technology Team. “We were already developing an interface with GetWellNetwork where doctors can order educational videos in the EMR and have them automatically pop up on the patient’s TV. We thought something similar could be done with staff location in the room.”

Working closely with Versus, RBF and GetWellNetwork, Nemours integrated all three technologies. “When the employee enters the room, the Versus RTLS sends that information through Rauland Responder to GetWellNetwork,” explains Mark Chamberlain, a Nemours Application Support Analyst who worked on the project. “GetWellNetwork taps into our database, popping up the employee’s credentials and photo on the TV regardless of what else is playing.”

Further, “The RTLS allows us to keep an audit trail in GetWellNetwork,” adds Rodriguez. “The data of who has been in the patient room is available, in case the family would like to see if a doctor has made his rounds while they were out.”

Jackie Gustafson, Director of IT Applications, says leveraging technology in creative ways to support the sharing of information is core to Nemours’ patient- and family-centered care philosophy. “It was truly extraordinary to watch it develop from concept to reality, and our partnership with these three vendors was critical to making it happen.”

“The innovation of this solution has really been a game-changer for us,” explained Jenn Cravens, Healthcare Business Development at Rauland-Borg Corporation of Florida. “Being able to provide patients and their families with this integrated information has transformed the way we approach solutions in the healthcare market.”

“It’s an excellent example of combining technologies for the greater patient good,” remarks Robin Cavanaugh, Chief Technology Officer at GetWellNetwork. “Providing this security and peace of mind to patients wouldn’t be possible without the reliable, accurate location data from Versus and Rauland.”

How has the technology been received? Chamberlain says originally only nurses and physicians were wearing Versus badges, but they quickly expanded the program because of requests from ancillary departments. Now, more than 200 employees participate, including respiratory therapists, rehabilitation staff and others.

“Wearing the badge makes a big difference when we first enter a patient room,” John Rendle, Director of Respiratory Therapy at Nemours. “When the patient and family can recognize you from your photo, know your name, what you do, and know you’re supposed to be there, it really puts them at ease.”

Healthcare organizations wishing to learn more about the Versus-GetWellNetwork integration can visit with both companies at the HIMSS14 conference in Orlando, Fla., February 23-27, 2014. For more information about RTLS events at HIMSS, For more information, visit  versustech.com/himss14.

About Nemours
Nemours is an internationally recognized children’s health system that owns and operates theNemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, and Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, FL, along with major pediatric specialty clinics in Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Established as The Nemours Foundation through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, Nemours offers pediatric clinical care, research, education, advocacy and prevention programs to all families in the communities it serves.

About Rauland-Borg Corporation of Florida
Rauland-Borg Corporation of Florida (RBF) is a leading systems integrator for Florida’s healthcare and educational facilities in since 1997. RBF has five locations, Altamonte Springs, Sunrise, Fort Myers, Tampa, and Jacksonville, strategically placed to be within a two-hour distance of any of our customers. Each location has a full-service and sales office with an on-site warehouse and service staff on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, visit rauland-fl.com.

About Versus Technology, Inc
Established in 1988, Versus Technology, Inc. specializes in Real-time Locating Systems (RTLS) for healthcare. Used by more than 700 hospitals for enterprise patient tracking, bed management, asset tracking, and nurse call automation, Versus improves patient flow and documentation of caregiver and patient interactions, while enhancing communication and efficiency. Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, the Versus infrared (IR) and Active RFID solution is responsible for clinical-grade location and automation at hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities worldwide.For more information, visit versustech.com.

About GetWellNetwork, Inc
GetWellNetwork, Inc. provides patient engagement solutions that help health care providers engage, educate and empower patients along the care continuum. Our patient-centered platform, delivered across multiple technology platforms including mobile devices, computers and televisions, enables providers to implement a revolutionary care delivery model called Interactive Patient Care to improve performance and patient outcomes. The company further extends the value of existing IT investments by integrating seamlessly with electronic medical record and patient portal applications. GetWellNetwork is recognized by KLAS as the leader in the Interactive Patient Systems category and exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association. For more information, visit www.GetWellNetwork.com.