New Hospitals to Implement New Communications Technology

New U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital to add integration platform to distribute data, enhance communications and patient experience

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Michigan Health System has selected a new system-wide integration platform to connect clinical alarm and alert data from medical to communications devices, wireless phones and pagers for its new 348-bed C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital.

"Moving from a facility where numerous beds were in a single room to a much larger facility where beds are now separated into multiple rooms, we anticipated needing a new system for nurses and clinicians to communicate," said Loree Collett, associate hospital administrator and operational lead for the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital expansion project.

The system is meant to enhance workflow and data analytics, reduce noise, strengthen care delivery and enhance the patient experience.

The hospital enlisted Connexall USA to evaluate its workflow and decision support, and create a two-way information exchange between all medical devices, beds, nursing stations and mobile phones.

"In our initial stages of implementation, the new system has already demonstrated its ability to improve collaboration within and across departments – no matter the location of patients or staff," Collett says. "We are enthusiastic about its impact on the long term success of the facility."

The new integration technology allows clinicians to access critical data, review the types of alerts they receive, run reports to meet regulations and adapt workflow to improve performance. It can quickly route and escalate alarms from most classes of manufacturers and vendors, including electronic health records, smart beds, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and radio frequency identification monitoring chips.

About the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital

The University of Michigan C. S. Mott Children's Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country. It was nationally ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties in the U.S. News Media Group's 2011 edition of "America's Best Children's Hospitals," including third in the country for heart and heart surgery. In November, Mott moves to a new 1.1 million square feet, $754 million state-of-the-art facility that will be home to cutting-edge specialty services for newborns, children and women. The new complex will also be home to the new Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital, offering high risk pregnancy services, specialty gynecological service and 50 new private labor, delivery and recovery rooms.

SOURCE University of Michigan Health System