GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The winners of the 2018 AvaPrize awards, announced during the second-annual AvaSure Symposium here last week, reflect the accelerating evolution of continuous virtual patient observation as it becomes a standard of care in bedside safety.
It marked the third consecutive year that AvaSure, the maker and distributor of the AvaSys TeleSitter Solution, has honored organizations for achievement in making remote video patient monitoring a vital tool in patient and staff safety, nursing efficiency and cost control.
“I talk with our clients every day about their clinical challenges and successes, and I can tell you that the achievements of these winners are truly amazing, and the bar gets raised each year for winning one of these awards,” said Lisbeth Votruba, AvaSure’s Vice President of Clinical Quality & Innovation.
The honors include the Safety Net Award for the most complete AvaSys program; the Path to Zero Award for the most impressive fall reduction program centered around video monitoring; the Hub and Spoke Award, for the most efficient use of AvaSys by multi-site organizations using a single remote central observation center; and the Video Monitor Staff Superstar Award, which recognizes an individual who consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the safety of patients and staff.
The Safety Net Award was given to Providence St. Peter Hospital, Olympia, Washington, and its sister hospital, Providence Centralia Hospital in Centralia, Washington, both part of the Providence Health system, which has a systemwide adoption of AvaSys under way. “Under the leadership of Violet Hunt, Director of Staffing and Administrative Services, not only has Providence St. Peter achieved its goals of improving patient safety and decreasing in-person observer costs, it has also increased staff productivity on nursing units and recognized the valuable role of AvaSys in keeping clinical staff safe from aggressive or violent patient behavior,” said Chris King, Vice President of Sales.
The Path to Zero Award went to the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the first VA facility in the nation to adopt video patient monitoring. “The Cincinnati VA is now blazing a trail for other VA medical facilities who are ready to adopt a new solution to improve patient and staff safety. We very much look forward to a national partnership with those institutions that take care of our wounded warriors,” said Chris DeYoung, AvaSure’s Vice President of Business Development.
The Hub and Spoke Award went to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). UMMC helped AvaSure refine its new software that links multiple facilities to a central system monitoring center. From a single center across the street from its flagship hospital in Baltimore, UMMC now watches a wide variety of patients at six hospitals. It has achieved 85% utilization of AvaSys. “This is the ultimate goal for making AvaSys a cost-effective solution – having an entire health system watched over from a centralized facility, where monitor staff can learn from one another and where care processes are standardized,” said David Tuuk, AvaSure’s Vice President of Sales.
The Video Monitor Staff Superstar Award went to Laura Torres of UC San Diego Health in California. Laura has been with UCSD in a video monitor staff role for several years, and now trains other monitor staff. “Laura has an extensive passion for patient quality and has a special way to interact with patients and staff members. She is for sure a role model for my team,” her manager, Maria Barreto, RN, wrote in her award nomination.
“Taken together, these award-winners show how far we have come and that we are on the right track as we continue to evolve our solutions to meet our clients’ needs in provisioning of care for at-risk patients, in staff safety and in cost reduction,” said Brad Playford, AvaSure’s founder and CEO.
About AvaSure
AvaSure develops and deploys technology and services to improve patient safety and optimize the efficient use of nursing resources. Its AvaSys TeleSitter Solution is an advanced patient observation and communications platform that allows trained staff to remotely monitor multiple patients in diverse locations, anticipate their needs, identify risky situations and alert floor staff in time to avert harm. This complete program for bedside safety is backed by a team of experienced nurses, who lead deployment and follow through for ultimate program success. For more information, visit http://avasure.com.
