Press Releases

Asante Health System Replaces Legacy Carts With Flo Mobile Workstations

(ATLANTA – August 14, 2006) Asante Health System announced that it has replaced its current mobile carts with 100 wireless mobile clinical workstations from Flo Healthcare. These integrated devices will help the Medford, Oregon-based hospital system increase patient safety at the point-of-care as it implements Siemens’ Med Administration Check (MAC) software, which automatically validates and documents medication administration at Rogue Valley Medical Center (RVMC) in Medford and Three Rivers Community Hospital (TRCH) in Grants Pass.

Asante provides comprehensive medical care to more than half a million people through a wide array of health services and programs, and RVMC – its flagship hospital – is the regional referral medical center for nine counties in southern Oregon and northern California.

In 2003, Asante purchased mobile carts in an effort to roll out its electronic medical record (EMR) initiative, said Jean Jackson, a project manager in Asante Health System’s corporate office. As it began implementing MAC, the hospital system began using the carts in earnest.

"It was clear the old carts took up a lot of space, which is at a premium in a hospital," Jackson said. "They were cumbersome, and they often were perceived as a hindrance in our workflow rather than as a support."

In 2003, Asante conducted a highly focused selection process, beginning with a vendor fair. Eight hardware vendors participated in the fair, where IT and nursing staff evaluated the carts based on a variety of criteria. When it was time to select new carts earlier this year, IT and nursing had very specific criteria based on their experience to date. The IT staff was searching for a unit that nurses could easily power on and off with an accessible hard drive. The nursing staff primarily was looking for a compact cart that offered proper ergonomics. Asante was especially impressed with Flo Healthcare’s willingness to customize the workstations to improve ergonomics.

"The carts needed to move up and down, as well as roll without creating any poor body dynamics," Jackson said. "Our average nurse is 48-49 years old, and so we are mindful of workplace injuries."

Asante narrowed the field to three cart vendors, one of which was Flo Healthcare. After testing the carts in its own hospitals, Asante found that although some carts rolled easily on linoleum, it required too much effort to maneuver them over the hospitals’ carpeted floors. The staff agreed that the Flo 1750 mobile workstation was the most agile cart and required the least physical effort to roll and to adjust up and down.

With years of experience helping hospitals integrate wireless mobile computing devices at the point-of-care, Flo Healthcare is teaming closely with Asante Health System to ensure that training and rollout of the Flo mobile workstations is managed and aligned effectively with the health system's overall MAC implementation.

"Flo Healthcare is proud to partner with Asante Health System to help improve patient safety at the point-of-care," said Keith Washington, Flo Healthcare Vice President and General Manager. “Asante’s clinicians will use Flo mobile clinical workstations to access the MAC software, which helps reduce errors at the patient’s bedside.”

The MAC system scans each medication and the patient's ID bracelet, and then it ensures "five rights" at the bedside: right drug, right patient, right dose, right route of administration and right time. MAC alerts nurses in real time to potential five right administration errors, and. clinicians can perform checks such as allergies, drug-lab and drug-drug interactions at the time of administration. They also can enter STAT orders through the scanning process to perform interaction checks prior to administration.

Like its new parent, Emerson Electric Co., Flo Healthcare has always concentrated on providing innovative, customer-focused, solution-oriented products. Such innovation has established Flo's original pedestal cart as the leading cart-based form factor in hospitals. This innovation is also reflected in the three U.S. patents (6,493,220; 6,721,178 and 7,009,840) that have been awarded to Flo to date that protect many of the (now essential) features found in Flo carts. Other patents are pending, and with the backing of its new parent, Flo expects to continue to focus on solution-oriented initiatives and fully protect its substantial investment in innovation.

About Asante Health System
Asante Health System is a community owned and governed healthcare system, serving nine counties in southern Oregon and northern California. From offering state-of-the-art medical care to championing wellness, Asante provides comprehensive medical care to more than half a million people through a wide range of healthcare services and programs. Asante operates two hospitals: RVMC in Medford, the region’s referral medical center, and TRCH in Grants Pass. In addition to many outpatient services and specialized programs in partnership with local physicians, Asante operates Genesis in Central Point, the only medically based dependency treatment center in the region, and Hearthstone, a skilled-nursing facility in Medford. Asante has built a strong reputation for quality care and continues to invest in skilled professionals, new technology and modern, comfortable facilities. RVMC is among the nation’s elite cardiovascular hospitals and is the West Coast’s only five-time recipient of the prestigious 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital award from Solucient. For more information, visit www.asante.org.

About Flo Healthcare
Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, Flo Healthcare designs comprehensive wireless and mobile clinical workstation solutions specifically for the healthcare industry. Flo Healthcare is part of Emerson Storage Solutions’ InterMetro (Metro) division. Like Emerson, which is focused on making people’s lives better through its products, systems and solutions, Flo Healthcare’s top priority is improving patient care and safety. By delivering a better connection to information, clinicians stay better connected with patients. Flo Healthcare works with clinical software, OEM business partners and value added resellers to deliver patented, integrated solutions – infrastructure, devices and services – to medical facilities. With 45,000 mobile devices and wireless infrastructure systems installed within approximately 800 hospitals, Flo Healthcare is the acknowledged leader in total hospital and system-wide wireless and mobile clinical workstation installations across the U.S. and Canada. For more information on Flo Healthcare, visit www.flohealthcare.com or call 877-FLO-4040. For more information about our parent company, Emerson, visit www.GoToEmerson.com.