Crittenton Hospital Medical Center and CareTech Solutions Help Babies Stay Safe with New Tracking Technology11 October 2005
Crittenton Hospital Medical
Center in Rochester, Mich., has activated two high-tech systems that will
improve the safety and care of patients as well as information access for
visitors with the assistance of CareTech Solutions, a Michigan-based provider
of information technology (IT) and healthcare information management (HIM)
solutions for hospitals and health systems.
In the hospital's pediatrics and mother-baby units, an advanced system has
been implemented for ensuring the safety of babies, helping to ensure that a
baby is matched with its own mother when brought to a room from the nursery
and that only authorized individuals move a baby through the units.
Called the "Hugs and Kisses" infant protection system, manufactured by
VeriChip, this tracking technology involves a tiny RFID (radio-frequency
identification) radio transmitter that is placed on the baby's ankle. With a
wireless system in place throughout the area, "Hugs" polls the baby's monitor
every seven seconds to determine the exact location of the infant in relation
to an electronic floor plan that is observed by hospital staff.
The "Kisses" mother/infant matching system technology utilizes the RFID
device on the baby and a small quarter sized tag on the mother that are bound
together at the baby's birth. This system prevents the risk of mother/baby
mismatch by playing a lullaby when the mother and baby are within arms reach
to confirm a match. The "Hugs and Kisses" systems also support multiple
births.
Moreover, both systems help prevent abduction of an infant, a problem
resulting in more than 100 abductions from healthcare facilities in the past
22 years. If a baby is held more than ten seconds outside a door, or if a
baby passes through a door without having been released, an alert sounds in
the unit to warn nurses. The monitoring system is removed from the mother and
baby when they are discharged.
While "Hugs and Kisses" is designed to provide constantly updated
information on each baby's location and proper matching with its mother,
another system implemented at Crittenton by CareTech is helping visitors
remain updated on information from the World Wide Web. All areas of the
hospital now provide wireless access to the Internet. Visitors and families
in public areas and in patient rooms can go online via their laptops to keep
others up to date on a patient's progress through email, to stay in touch with
news developments, to retrieve medical and other information from online sites
and to use the Internet for a full range of resources. This fall, Internet
kiosks will be installed in public areas of the hospital for additional
convenience.
Additionally, cell phone use will be permitted in certain areas of the
hospital, allowing family and friends to remain in contact with one another.
"Our top priorities at Crittenton are safety, comfort and communication
for patients and their families," said Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
President and Chief Executive Officer Lynn Orfgen. "We feel the security and
peace of mind afforded us by CareTech's adaptation of VeriChip's technology
for Crittenton, along with the information access now available through our
wall-to-wall wireless access, will provide an exceptional level of comfort
among all who stay, visit and work here."
CareTech is known widely for the innovative solutions it develops and/or
implements for healthcare systems across the country, ranging from advanced
networking technology to forward-looking electronic medical records that help
to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care.
"Crittenton is offering a new standard of care through its adoption of
this RFID technology and other wireless applications," said CareTech President
and Chief Executive Officer Jim Giordano. "The board and management of
Crittenton should be commended for embracing technology to its fullest in
advancing the well-being and comfort of its patients."
About Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
Since first opening its doors in 1967, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
has prided itself on being the modern image of a community hospital, one that
offers complete quality medical care with compassion and a full range of
emergency and ambulatory services, including intensive care, inpatient and
outpatient surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology,
cardiology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, audiology and radiation oncology.
Specialty services include pediatric urgent care, joint replacement, sports
rehabilitation, inpatient rehabilitation, occupational medicine, sleep
medicine, wound management, hospice, weight management, bloodless medicine and
community health education programs. For more information about our services,
please contact Crittenton at (248) 652-5000 or visit
http://www.crittenton.com .
About CareTech Solutions, Inc.
CareTech Solutions, Inc., an information technology (IT) and health
information management (HIM) outsourcing provider for hospitals and health
systems, is committed to creating value for healthcare clients through
customized, flexible outsourcing solutions that contribute to improving
patient care while lowering healthcare costs. Based in Troy, Mich., CareTech
Solutions offers clients expert services in virtually every facet of
information technology from implementing emerging technologies to supporting
day-to-day IT and HIM operations for hospitals nationally. For more
information please visit: http://www.caretechsolutions.com .
Source: PR Newswire
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