(Traverse City, Michigan, May 18, 2010) – Since 2003, Avera McKennan University Hospital has utilized the Real-time Locating System (RTLS) from Versus Technology. With this system, Avera tracks over 1,500 assets for real-time equipment management. The Versus solution also integrates to the hospital’s nurse call system from Rauland-Borg, which allows Avera’s nurses to automatically register response to patient calls and report that they are with a patient just by virtue of their presence. Now, Avera is expanding the Versus solution to its new, comprehensive surgery center.
Scheduled to open July 6, 2010, the Avera Surgery Center will focus on ambulatory or same-day general outpatient surgical procedures. This new space encompasses 34,000 square feet of the newly constructed Avera Cancer Institute and is connected via a skywalk to Avera McKennan. The Versus Advantages Clinic solution will be utilized throughout Avera Surgery Center, including the 28 private patient rooms and eight surgical suites, to provide more efficient patient flow and communication to family members regarding patient status.
The Avera Surgery Center has separate entrances and very specific clinical work flows. Each patient who enters this area will be provided a Versus locating badge. With this badge, staff will be able to identify the patient’s location, wait time and status. They’ll also be able to identify how long the patient waits at each stage of the process, from registration to discharge. When aggregated across all patients, services and providers, this will help Avera better understand the intervals of care, scheduling needs and their capacity for additional procedures.
Avera will use the data gathered with Versus Advantages to discreetly communicate patient status to concerned family members in the waiting area. Family and friends will be able to watch as their loved ones progress through the various stages of treatment. They’ll know where the patient is and who is with the patient. If family members leave the surgery center for a break at the bistro or to enjoy other amenities such as the indoor garden, they’ll be given an alpha pager to which Versus will relay similar patient status information.
For a virtual tour of the Versus Advantages RTLS solution, visit www.versustech.com.
