Press Releases
St. Mary’s/Dean Ventures, Inc. Preserves
Patient Safety With Mobile Workstations from Flo Healthcare
Flo workstations help surgery centers connect with patients
at the point of care
(ATLANTA – April 10, 2007) St. Mary’s/Dean Ventures,
Inc. (SMDV) announced that it has agreed to purchase 63 mobile
clinical workstations from Flo Healthcare for its four surgery
centers. Preserving patient safety was a priority for SMDV, which
is a joint venture of the Madison, Wisconsin-based Dean Health
System and St. Mary’s Hospital. SMDV operates a network
of medical facilities throughout southern Wisconsin.
"One of the biggest concerns physicians voiced was they
didn’t
like nurses being taken away from the patient’s bedside
to chart or input data, especially in surgery centers and critical
care units," said Jonathan Lewis, an RN and Director of
Health Information Services at SMDV. "In acute care environments,
nurses don’t have the luxury of turning their back on a
patient for even a moment. The staff wanted to make sure that
they always had access to a PC, no matter where they were."
After speaking with several vendors and attending trade shows,
the organization formed a solid idea of what it needed: a workstation
that was integrated, wireless and mobile, offered thin client
technology, and could be sanitized easily.
"Clearly, far and away, Flo was superior to all others," Lewis
said. “Flo’s mobile workstations offered pure aesthetics—they
were clean and high tech. It was a sleeker unit than the others,
which to us looked like a character from Star Wars with all kinds
of equipment hanging from them."
Clinicians preferred Flo’s smaller footprint, as well as
the ability to adjust the keyboard up and down.
"We like the whole integration aspect of it—a thin
client with a built-in monitor, and not a lot of extra add-ons
that we
didn’t need," Lewis said.
The Flo 1750 is a sleek, lightweight, general-purpose workstation
used by clinicians to bring them closer to the patient by enabling
them to access the hospital information systems while at the bedside.
SMDV began implementing the workstations in November, 2006. Then
it tested the software and trained the staff.
"Our Flo sales rep and one technician visited us, and they
demonstrated the workstation to our clinicians and IT department,"
Lewis said. "They took the workstation apart in front of
us and went through the whole inside circuitry, explained who
to call
for what problem, and even showed us how to replace batteries.
It was very hands-on. However, there was no need for intensive
training on the use of the workstation because it is pretty intuitive."
Keith Washington, Flo Healthcare’s vice president and general
manager, noted that SMDV’s dedication to patient safety
is in line with Flo Healthcare’s mission to improve patient
safety at the point of care.
"Staying connected to patients in high risk environments
such as surgery centers and critical care units is crucial, and
we are
excited to assist SMDV in preserving patient safety with our mobile
clinical workstations," Washington said.
About Dean Health System
Dean Health System (DHS) is a multi-specialty integrated healthcare
delivery system based in Madison, Wisconsin. DHS is the holding
corporation which oversees the business entities which provide
medical services, insurance products, and ancillary services to
patients and other customers. This includes St. Mary’s/Dean
Ventures. The Dean organization includes almost 500 physicians
providing primary, specialty and tertiary care at 55 locations
throughout southern Wisconsin.
About St. Mary’s Hospital
St. Mary's Hospital is a part of St. Louis-based SSM Health Care,
sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary. Serving South Central
Wisconsin since 1912, St. Mary's Hospital offers a wide variety
of health and wellness services. St. Mary's offers a full range
of inpatient and outpatient treatment and diagnostic services
in primary care and nearly all specialties. It was recently named
one of 100 Top Hospitals in the nation by Solucient.
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 50,000 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.
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