asset tracking and time management

How Does Your Hospital Rate?

The Leapfrog Group of Washington, D.C. has released its Spring 2018 Hospital Safety Grades. So, how do the hospitals in your state rank?  And what’s more…how can hospitals improve their rankings on lists like these?

Nearly a third of the 2,500 general acute care hospitals surveyed earned an “A.”  Where many of this year’s “A” recipients have previously had “D” or “F” ratings on prior lists, the results indicate a positive trend toward improvements.  According to the the Leapfrog Group, theirs is the only list focused entirely on errors, accidents, injuries and infections. Collectively, these issues represent the third leading cause of death in the United States.

Measuring Healthcare Providers

Of course there are many such lists and rankings available for variety of healthcare providers. Most working in the healthcare industry are familiar with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) star ratings.  The CMS website allows you to quickly and easily compare overall hospital quality star rating for hospitals near your zip code. And Becker’s Hospital Review publishes an annual list of “100 great hospitals in America.” All of these lists take into account a wide variety of criteria and statistics.  Some factors may be reported directly by the hospitals themselves via survey responses.  Other are gleaned indirectly via regulatory reporting requirements.

Improve Hospital Ranking with Increased Safety and Better Efficiency

At the end of the day, anything that hospitals can do to reduce errors, improve efficiency, and increase patient satisfaction can only help improve their ranking.  Improvements are achieved via many different methods. Hospitals may start the process by focusing on a specific department or unit. Using technology or systems to help manage things is one way to target improvements.  For example, installation of a real-time location (RTLS) solution in the emergency department can help staff better manage workflow.  RTLS could also significantly reduce or eliminate time wasted searching for critical equipment. The addition of an infant protection system in the labor and delivery unit ensures each and every baby is safe and secure anywhere within the unit.  Still other hospitals may choose to enact policy or procedural changes to drive increased safety across the entire hospital system.

No matter how they approach it, hospitals must understand the importance and impact of these rankings.  They must also be continuously working to improve their scores. As patients become increasingly involved in their own healthcare decisions, they will seek out the best value care.  Improving rankings could increase a hospital’s ability to attract patients and earn referrals.

So….what is your facility doing to help improve its ratings on these various lists and surveys of providers? Contact Secure Care Products today and let us demonstrate how our solutions can help drive improved safety and efficiency at your hospital.

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New Panic Button Laws Cropping Up Around the Country

Providing Panic Buttons in Hotels Can Improve Staff Safety…and Overall Efficiency

The #MeToo movement has taken the world by storm over the last several months.  It has also given momentum to efforts in the hospitality industry to improve conditions for its most at-risk workers by requiring the use of panic buttons.  Hotel staff responsible for serving guests, and cleaning/maintaining guest rooms have reported very high rates of sexual harassment and assault.  The high rates of harassment are due to a variety of factors that makes this group of workers particularly vulnerable.  Factors that make these workers more vulnerable to harassment include: English often not their native language, a general fear of retaliation from supervisors, a work environment that requires they enter isolated personal spaces.

Ordinances already passed in New York, Chicago and Seattle mean that hotels need to provide panic buttons and more stringent sexual harassment policies.  Unincorporated parts of Sacramento county just passed an ordinance earlier this year, and workers in Las Vegas are planning to request panic buttons in upcoming negotiations.  Daily fines or the risk of having licenses revoked can be the result of non-compliance with some of the new laws passed.  These new ordinances usually specify the following for a panic button:

  • Something that staff can easily carry with them or wear as they go about their day-to-day tasks
  • Must be provided at no cost to the worker
  • Can summon help to their location

Technology is the Solution

RTLS (real-time location system) technology offers an ideal solution for meeting new hotel panic button law requirements.  These systems are designed to locate people and things in real time using various technologies.  Some RTLS uses UWB (ultra-wideband), BLE (Bluetooth low energy), IR (infrared) or Wi-Fi.  Generally, a real-time location system is made of 3 main parts:

  1. Software (usually on a computer at central security or main desk console)
  2. Transmitters (small, portable devices worn or carried by staff that sends the location information)
  3. Receivers (a stationary device, typically wall or ceiling mounted, that receives the location information from the transmitters)

Location accuracy and reliability of the system are absolutely critical to ensure the fastest response to a panic button call.  Secure Care Products offers the ENVisionIT® RTLS solution which uses UWB technology for accuracy to within ± 1 foot.  This ensures instant room-level notification without a need for hardware in every single room.  In addition, we offer a mobile app with picture push feature.  This means anybody receiving a panic button alarm notification will see: name, location and photo of the person in need.

RTLS For Panic Buttons….and More

More cities and states across the country will pass legislation requiring hotels to provide panic buttons to their staff.  This means we’re sure to see an increased need for RTLS in the hospitality industry.  Generally, the hotel industry has resisted panic buttons as an undue cost.  However, by selecting the right technology to meet panic button law requirements, hotels can do them selves a great service.  UWB-based RTLS technology is an ideal panic button solution due to its high-level accuracy and reliability.  But this technology easily lends itself to additional use cases in hotels/casinos/convention centers.  Hotels can immediately start improving overall operational efficiency by using RTLS for workflow management and asset tracking.  RTLS is a great technology for the future of hospitality.  Contact us today to learn more about RTLS for your hotel.

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Security officer monitoring from desk

Is Your Facility Prepared for an Active Shooter Emergency?

By now, healthcare facilities are familiar with the CMS emergency preparedness rule.  This rule provides “best practices” for disaster and emergency preparedness.  But many sites, especially long-term care facilities, often overlook preparedness when it comes to an active shooter/armed intruder emergency.  While it is a difficult scenario to think about, it is something that must be considered.  Planning and preparation accordingly will ensure the best possible outcome in the event of such a tragedy.

Long-term care facilities face especially difficult challenges with regard to an active shooter event.  With residents requiring varying levels of assistance and an environment that is often designed specifically to look and feel like a home, it can be challenging to imagine how an active shooter emergency would be best addressed.  This is all the more reason to make planning and preparation for such an event a top priority.  Below are four areas to help you start thinking about this very real threat:

Hazards Vulnerability Assessment (HVA)

This is where your team should list any and all potential hazards your facility could experience (including active shooter).  In addition, you should indicate the likelihood of each hazard listed.  This will help your team prioritize and focus on the most urgent areas of concern.  For example, earthquake may be listed on every facility’s HVA.  But if a facility is in California, the higher likelihood makes it a more urgent priority than for a facility in, say, Connecticut.  Your risk assessment and planning and preparations all start based on the HVA, so make sure it’s as thorough as possible.

Communication with Local Emergency Responders

Be sure to reach out to your local emergency responders.  Share and review your HVA with them and ask for their input – they will likely have suggestions to help you improve your plan.  It’s important to communicate with these people who are likely to be the first responders to your facility in the event of an emergency.  Describe and discuss your population with emergency responders so they have an understanding of who they could be dealing with in advance of an emergency.

Conduct Drills and Training

Almost everyone is familiar with fire drills.  But training and preparing for an active shooter or other emergencies is just as critical.  Drills should be done regularly, and be focused on specific emergencies (i.e. active shooter, fire, medical, etc).  Practicing the specific functional aspects of preparation help ensure that your staff know exactly what to do in the case of any given event.  While unpleasant to consider, unprepared personnel might freeze into inaction.  When specific situations or events are practiced and drilled routinely, “muscle memory” kicks in when an event really happens.

Documentation

This step can easily be overlooked or thought to be not that important.  But documenting everything about your emergency preparedness is critical.  Many think about documentation for training purposes.  However, documenting many other facets of your planning can be beneficial as well.  Below are just a few suggestions of things you should consider capturing along the path to emergency preparedness:

  • Emergency planning and prep meeting minutes
  • Discussions or meetings held with local emergency responders
  • Outline of the steps and actions your facility has taken towards preparing for emergencies

Having documentation of such things is incredibly helpful as part of the planning and preparation process.  And it can also become a valuable resource during post-event recovery.  Being able to provide proof of your planning process, training records and other steps taken to prepare in advance for such an event can go a long way in the aftermath of an emergency.

As much as nobody expects such a tragedy at their facility, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Take the time now to make sure your facility and staff are prepared.  Many excellent resources are available and below we’ve provided a few links to help get you started.

Lastly, reach out to your local police and fire departments, your state’s health and human services department or even other local healthcare facilities.  Our distributors would gladly help review your current security, fire safety and access control systems.  They could also assist in specifying any new systems or upgrades that could help improve your facility’s safety.  A wander management solution and real-time location system can ensure residents and patients don’t get into areas they shouldn’t, and help you know when and where everyone is at all times.  Contact us today to learn more.

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Another Great Year at HIMSS

HIMSS18: RTLS and Mobile Solutions a Big Hit!

A small team from Secure Care Products was lucky enough to spend last week in sunny and warm Las Vegas.  And as usual, it was

SCPBoothTraffic

mVision demo at SCP Booth during HIMSS18

a great success!

Many folks dropped by the booth to talk about our RTLS solution, ENVisionIT®.  Many visitors said they definitely see the potential benefits of such a platform within their facilities.  From real-time tracking and locating of staff and patients for better workflow, to eliminating time wasted searching for assets or equipment.  But most were trying to get an understanding of the technology, how it works and how it might fit into their facility’s infrastructure.  There is no doubt that RTLS was a hot topic this year at the HIMSS conference!

The other big draw to the Secure Care Products booth was our mVision® mobile app.  As mobile technology becomes more prevalent in healthcare, everyone wants to know how they can get critical information and notifications to the right people as quickly as possible.  This is exactly what Secure Care’s mVision® mobile app does.  Pushing alerts and alarms from Secure Care Software directly to the right people at the right time.  In addition, our picture push feature means you receive the picture of the person who triggered the alert or alarm.  With the high volume of staff and patients in any given facility, we believe this picture push feature brings tremendous value.  Why waste time going to a central computer console for information when you can have it in the palm of your hand?

Infant protection, home health care and the use of cloud technology were other topics we heard about from several people during the conference last week.  We’d like to thank everyone who took time to visit our booth!  If you didn’t get a chance to go to HIMSS this year, or perhaps just ran out of time to visit our booth – feel free to contact us.  We’d love a chance to talk about the fantastic solutions we could bring to your facility.

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NH ranks 5th best state in the country

New Hampshire #5 Overall in 2018

U.S. News Ranks N.H. #5 Overall in the Country

Secure Care Products has been headquartered and manufacturing in the Granite State since we were founded more than 35 years ago!  Glad to see our great state made the top 5 in the 2018 U.S. News Best States Ranking!  For more than 3 decades, we’ve been providing innovative protection solutions to help companies safeguard their people, assets and profits.  From healthcare and hospitality, to manufacturing and education Secure Care has a solution for your business.  We’re proud to design, manufacture and sell in the Live Free or Die state!

If you’re in Las Vegas this week, come check us out as we exhibit at the biggest healthcare IT tradeshow in the country – HIMSS18!  We’ll be doing demos of our mVision® mobile app, and offering visitors to our booth a chance to win an Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dots!  Booth #11647.

 

 

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nurse on mobile device

RTLS: The Future in Healthcare

Mobile Device Usage Is on the Rise and RTLS Is Expecting Big Growth in Healthcare.

Mobile devices in healthcare are becoming more prevalent than ever – and this shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Are you reading this post on your computer or on your phone?  Mobile devices have increasingly become part of our daily lives.  Today we use our phones for almost everything we do – keeping up with friends, managing our finances, reading the news and even watching TV.  Our phones are with us 24/7!  Mobile devices have become an integral part of how many people perform their job every day.  This is now becoming true even in the world of healthcare.

Visited a doctor’s office or hospital recently?  You were likely checked using some sort mobile device, or had your vitals taken and then recorded on a tablet.  Tablets represent the second most-used device in hospitals according to the HIMSS Analytics study.  What’s more, over 40% of those surveyed confirmed they use their smart phones to access information used in providing and coordinating patient care.  It’s no wonder this is the case – if your phone isn’t in your hand right now, I bet it’s within arms reach.

Mobile devices provide doctors and nurses with access to information and critical communications in real time.  Decisions can be made faster, time can be saved and costs can be reduced with such immediate access to information.  It’s easy to see how how mobile device usage is only expected to increase, and why such huge growth is expected in RTLS (real time location systems) in healthcare over the next 3 to 5 years.

Our mobile devices are always with us.  This makes them a powerful tool for gathering, using or sharing information in real time.  With healthcare facilities beginning to implement real-time location systems, the use of mobile devices in healthcare will only grow.  RTLS solutions offer a means of tracking and monitoring staff, streamlining workflows, managing inventory and reducing patient wait times.  The Secure Care Products ENVisionIT® RTLS solution works seamlessly with our mVision® mobile app.  mVision®  enables alerts and alarms to be sent to mobile devices ensuring the fastest response for urgent situations like a staff duress event.

RTLS & Mobile Devices Are Not Without Obstacles

Of course the increasing use of mobile devices in healthcare does not come without risks or challenges.  The decision making and implementation of any new mobile endeavor requires involvement from key stakeholders upfront.  This means that IT, administration and nursing management should be working together to evaluate and implement any new solutions.  Protection of confidential patient information is critical when talking about the use of mobile devices in healthcare, but privacy concerns are not the only possible issue.  The migration to a more mobile-friendly healthcare environment requires careful consideration of many critical areas.  Do you allow users to BYOD (“bring your own device”)?  Have you developed a thorough mobile device policy?  Does your facility have the appropriate infrastructure for mobile device usage?

In addition to the use of mobile devices in healthcare, the implementation of a RTLS solution is a significant investment.  It requires careful review of, planning for and discussion about your strategic goals and objectives for installing such a system.  Where will the use of RTLS have the most impact on your facility?  Do you have significant leasing costs or sizable capital equipment expenditures budgeted for the upcoming year?  Are you concerned about keeping your staff safe from workplace violence?  Are your patient satisfaction ratings where you want them to be?  RTLS can provide the information you need to address all of these issues and more.  As with any major investment, the upfront planning is critical.  A successful RTLS installation will involve many meetings, close coordination with your vendor, prioritization and a phased approach to implementation.

Learn More About RTLS and Mobile Devices in Healthcare

One thing is certain: the use of mobile devices in hospitals will continue to evolve and expand.  HIMSS18 has a variety of mobile-related sessions already scheduled for this year’s conference.  As always, it’s sure to be a great place to hear some of the latest news about the use of mobile devices in healthcare.  We’d love the opportunity to meet with you at HIMSS to showcase our RTLS solution and mobile app.  We believe that RTLS and clinical mobility are the way of the future and that these platforms offer tremendous value to healthcare facilities.  RTLS and mobile devices will become deeply ingrained in the future of healthcare as facilities work to improve patient care and outcomes and streamline operations to reduce costs.

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Violence Against Nurses is “Out of Control”

Startling Statistics for Healthcare Workers

A recent survey of Ontario healthcare workers revealed some startling statistics about workplace violence. The survey conducted for the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) found that 68% of nurses and personal support workers across Ontario have experienced physical violence at least once in the past year. Michael Hurley, OCHU’s president, is quoted as saying “Violence is raging really out of control in these hospitals.”

Unfortunately, if you’ve been working in or around the healthcare field for many years, this news is not a big surprise. It has been known for many, many years that healthcare workers worldwide suffer workplace violence at significantly higher than average rates. Click here for the full news article with more about this most recent survey.

Secure Care Products is proud to offer a real-time location system (RTLS) that creates an ideal solution for addressing staff duress risks.  Our ENVisionIT® real-time locating system (RTLS) can alert fellow staff and security of an event at the press of a button. Alarms trigger notification to our software and mobile devices using the mVision® app. The alarm notifications include a photo push showing the staff member requiring assistance along with their precise location.  Such details provided so quickly and with such accuracy (location within +/- one foot) enable the fastest possible response in a critical staff duress situation. Learn more about our ENVisionIT real-time locating system or request a quote today. Your staff is by far your most valuable asset.  Install a solution that shows your commitment to their safety and let them know help is only a button press away.

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Winter is Almost Here – Keep Your Residents Safe

Winter is almost here.  How will you keep your residents inside and protected from the elements?

To often each year we see stories in the news of residents eloping outdoors into extreme weather.  Sometimes these stories have a happy ending, but many times they do not.  Make sure the residents entrusted to your care are safe and protected with a Door GUARDIAN® Wander Management System from Secure Care Products.

Door GUARDIAN systems can be customized to fit your facility’s needs:eloped woman in the cold

  • Alarm or lock doors when monitored residents attempt to exit
  • ID-based solutions enable staff to react more efficiently by knowing exactly who they’re looking for
  • Interface with a variety of dry contact driven devices such as nurse call, mangnetic door locks, elevators, etc.
Add our mVision® mobile app and ENVisionIT RTLS® to Door GUARDIAN to create an even more comprehensive wander management solution for your facility.  Receive real-time alerts and alarms to mobile devices that include resident and location specific details.  Using Door GUARDIAN demonstrates that your facility is taking all precautions to ensure resident safety.  It offers peace of mind for the families entrusting loved ones entrusted to your care.

Make sure your residents stay safe and warm this winter.  Install Door GUARDIAN today.

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nurse alone in hallway

Asset Management – RTLS – Case Study

Like many hospitals and businesses, controlling costs while maintaining and improving quality of care can be a challenge. What if you had an asset management tool that enabled you to quickly locate, track, monitor and respond in real time to fluctuations of equipment allocation? What if you had the ability to “right size your inventory” based on actual real time demands? What if you could quickly and easily locate the assets you need right when you need them?  The next generation in Real Time Locating Solutions (RTLS) from Secure Care Products, LLC, is called ENVisionIT®. This solution enables you to gain such capabilities and so much more.

Gateway Regional Medical Center of Granite City, IL is a progressive hospital located just outside of St. Louis, MO.  They are proud to be using the “next generation” approach in providing cost effective and quality medical care to its patients and staff. Gateway Regional Medical Center is committed to providing cost effective care in the most innovative way possible.

In keeping with its progressive nature, Gateway Regional Medical Center chose Secure Care Products to install its ENVisionIT RTLS system in their emergency department (ED) to manage certain assets and right-size inventory.

Upon installation, ENVisionIT quickly accomplished five key goals:

  1. Provided an easy-to-view floor plan-based interface showing the real time location of all costly assets in the ED to within +/- one foot of accuracy.
  2. Controlled asset shrinkage through the use of asset tags on equipment.  This enabled easy locating on the floor plan, and also managed doors leading in and out of the ED unit by alarming or locking them depending on the asset type and location.
  3. Enabled dramatic improvements in staff time efficiency by eliminating wasted time spent searching for assets. Staff efficiency improvements ranged from 10-20% per shift.  Such improvements allowed resources to better utilize their time on other more critical tasks.
  4. Inventory right-sized for all assets in the ED.  Eliminated waste tied up in assets that were not needed for use in the ED and making them available where they were needed elsewhere in the hospital. Eliminating costs associated with having to purchase more equipment, and avoiding the costs associated with maintenance and calibration of additional equipment that isn’t truly needed.
  5. Cost savings realized due to the above demonstrated a return on investment in less than one year.  This is due in large part to the reduced amount of hardware required to deploy the ENVisionIT product and the reduced installation costs.

Matt Blevins, Chief Operating Officer sees the use of ENVisionIT at Gateway Regional Medical Center as an invaluable business tool in reducing operating costs on both upon installation and on an annual basis.  It optimizes the use of resources which improves patient care. According to Matt Blevins, “The team at Gateway Regional Medical Center is always looking for ‘next generation’ technology to provide an ever-increasing level of care for their patients. We see the ENVisionIT Real Time Locating Solution from Secure Care Products as yet another example of technology helping with patient care at Gateway Regional Medical Center.”

Find out how the ENVisionIT® Real Time Locating System can improve your facility!
Contact us today or request a quote

 

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staff safety staff duress solutions

Emergency Communication Best Tool for Nurse and Staff Safety

The United States Department of Labor warns, “Workers in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings face significant risks of workplace violence. Many factors contribute to this risk, including working directly with people who have a history of violence or who may be delirious or under the influence of drugs…In fact, healthcare accounts for nearly as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined.”  Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are instituting plans and tools to prevent incidents and protect their nurses and other staff.

Some of the most valuable strategies and tools for caring for our caregivers is available through the OSHA Worker Safety in Hospitals page.  In addition, the Joint Commission recommends installing an emergency communication system that enables staff to quickly and easily signal for help in urgent situations.

Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) often provide “panic buttons” for staff duress, however, not all RTLS systems are alike.  In a report published by the PMC, they detail the benefits of Ultra Wideband (UWB) RTLS systems.  They state, “UWB is one of the most recent, accurate, and promising technologies…UWB technology, unlike other positioning technologies such as infra-red and ultrasound sensor, does not require a line-of-sight and is not affected by the existence of other communication devices or external noise due to its high bandwidth and signal modulation.”  This is a significant difference when the application is emergency communication, providing a much more reliable and accurate system.

ENVisionIT by Secure Care Products is an UWB RTLS Solution that includes a Staff Safety Badge that can be worn by nurses and other hospital and healthcare staff.  The Staff Safety Badge has a push button on the badge which can be programmed for staff duress or any other workflow use.  This information can also be directly communicated to mobile devices through the mVision mobile application to all staff, including security.  The mobile app allows you to customize the notifications and set escalation paths ensuring no call for help goes unattended.  This provides a complete safety communication solution for hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

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