Kosair Children’s Hospital Selects Amcom Software for Clinical Alerting Middleware and Smartphone Communications

  • Middleware will be used to improve workflows for nurses by sending GE Healthcare’s Telligence nurse call system alerts to caregivers’ Cisco wireless IP phones, speeding patient response
  • Encrypted smartphone communications will help Kosair Children’s staff interact quickly and securely about critical updates via device-to-device messaging

MINNEAPOLIS--()--Amcom Software, Inc. today announced that Kosair Children’s Hospital, part of the Norton Healthcare system, has selected its solutions for clinical alerting middleware and critical smartphone communications to speed the sharing of important patient updates among staff. The Louisville, Ky., hospital decided to work with Amcom to strengthen its mobile communications capabilities overall by bringing together several technologies in an integrated framework. These components include the GE Healthcare Telligence™ nurse call system, the GetWellNetwork® interactive patient care system, Cisco® wireless IP phones, and smartphones.

The hospital implemented Cisco wireless IP phones in 2011 as a starting point for its expanded communications technology plan. Amcom’s ability to integrate its Amcom Messenger™ clinical alerting middleware with Cisco phones was a key factor in Kosair Children’s decision to work with Amcom, as was the ability to integrate with the GE Healthcare Telligence nurse call system. Once the project is complete, patients and family members will simply press the nurse call button to connect directly with the appropriate nurse, speeding response to requests and improving patients’ comfort. This will replace the current process of having a unit secretary remain at a desk to field incoming nurse call alerts and find the right personnel to address them.

Kosair Children’s also relies on GetWellNetwork’s GetWell Town pediatric interface to help improve patient and family satisfaction. GetWell Town is a colorful interactive experience where young patients and their families can learn about their health condition, check emails, access the Internet, request services, and watch the latest in entertainment. The hospital will integrate Amcom Messenger with the GetWellNetwork for housekeeping or engineering requests, freeing nurses from having to manage assignment of these duties, which often takes long periods of time.

The ability to use the Amcom Mobile Connect™ smartphone communications solution for device-to-device communications will also be helpful to Kosair Children’s busy staff. This method of HIPAA-compliant, traceable communications will enable administrators and clinicians to send and receive alerts about time-sensitive concerns with ease. These alerts can be about security measures or dangerous weather, as well as updates such as being at capacity and needing to ensure bed turnover procedures are completed as rapidly as possible.

“We want critical communications to be delivered in a timely manner for the welfare and satisfaction of patients, family members, and staff,” said Scott Stanton, Manager of Service Excellence, Kosair Children’s Hospital. “This means increasing communication to and among nurses with the latest technology so we can work smarter and simply cut wasted time out of the process. Our nursing staff welcomes improvements that aid their productivity because they know how much it can mean to the families in our care.”

“Supporting mobile communications is a focal area for many of our customers, and Kosair Children’s Hospital has an exemplary vision for how it will move information among staff and clinical systems,” said Chris Heim, President, Amcom Software. “The combination of clinical alerting middleware and smartphone communications sets the stage for many new ways to share information essential to premium levels of patient care.”

About Kosair Children’s Hospital
Licensed for 263 beds and recognized as one of the top children’s hospitals in America, Kosair Children’s Hospital is located in the downtown Louisville Medical Center. It is the region’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric hospital, and the only hospital in Kentucky offering a pediatric trauma center. Kosair Children’s provides a complete range of services for children, including pediatric intensive care and one of the nation’s largest intensive care nurseries for newborns.

Kosair Children’s Hospital serves as the pediatric teaching facility for the University of Louisville School of Medicine and is supported by the Children’s Hospital Foundation. As part of its commitment to teaching and research, the hospital offers special programs for cancer; heart, lung, kidney and infectious diseases; respiratory ailments; neurology and neurosurgery; general pediatric surgery; orthopaedics; diabetes; psychiatry; plastic surgery; and infant/pediatric heart, kidney and bone marrow transplants. The hospital operates the area’s only self-contained pediatric burn unit. Because of the hospital’s special mission, all care is provided by professionals specially skilled in the care of children.

Kosair Children’s Hospital received the prestigious Magnet designation for excellence in nursing care from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2007. Kosair Children’s is one of the top children’s hospitals in the United States as ranked in U.S. News Media Group’s 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals. More information is available at KosairChildrens.com.

About Amcom Software
Amcom Software, a subsidiary of USA Mobility, Inc. (Nasdaq: USMO), connects people to each other and to the data they need. This helps organizations save lives with communications that are faster, more accurate, and more efficient. Thousands of organizations worldwide rely on Amcom solutions for critical smartphone communications, contact center optimization, emergency management, and clinical workflow improvement. The company’s products are used by leading organizations in healthcare, hospitality, education, business, and government. By continually developing its industry-leading technologies, Amcom Software has rapidly grown and solidified its market leadership. For more information, call 800.852.8935 or go to http://www.amcomsoftware.com or find us on Twitter @AmcomSoftware.

Cisco is a registered trademark of Cisco Technology, Inc. GetWellNetwork is a registered trademark of GetWellNetwork Inc.

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Contacts

Amcom Software
Jill Asby, 952-230-5363
jasby@amcomsoft.com

Release Summary

Kosair Children's selects Amcom to improve nurse work flows and for encrypted smartphone communications. Amcom will integrate nurse call system with Cisco wireless phones to speed patient response

Contacts

Amcom Software
Jill Asby, 952-230-5363
jasby@amcomsoft.com