January 2017

HOSPITAL SPOTLIGHT
Hospitals of the
FUTURE
by Abbe Rosen, Northwest Medical Center
Northwest Medical Center
has been utilizing the latest
technologies in patient care
to create what they are
calling the “hospital of the
future.”
“Patients deserve a hospital with
top doctors using the latest tools,
treatments, and technology to deliver
the best possible care. By investing
$3 million in essential, cutting edge
technologies, we are cutting down
on miscommunications, delays, and
creating a safer patient environment,”
said Erica Gulrich, CEO of NWMC. “We
are excited to be the first to offer many
of these technologies to our patients
and caregivers.”
Highlights and videos of the
technologies are located on
northwestmed.com/hightech but are
also summarized below:
Visi-Mobile Wireless
Vital Sign Monitoring:
NWMC was the first hospital in Florida
to tap into the power of wireless
technology with the wrist-worn device,
named the Visi ® Mobile System. The
device is saving lives and it is also
allowing surgical patients at NWMC to
get uninterrupted sleep knowing that
they are being monitored 24/7. When
nurses perform their hourly rounding,
they no longer need to wake a patient
up to check their blood pressure, heart
rate, respiratory rate, or oxygenation
levels. The monitor can pick up any
abnormalities and life-saving actions
can be initiated right away.
iMobile Clinical
Communicators:
In an era of smartphones, paper charts
and dialing nurses stations to check
up on patients is a thing of the past.
Since iMobile was launched at NWMC,
it has eliminated the need to constantly
search for care team members and
has enabled efficient delivery of clinical
data and communications ensuring
timely patient care decisions. Clinical
specialists are equipped with iPhones
when they arrive to work; they are able
to send secure HIPAA compliant text
messages and pull up their patient
charts right at their fingertips. The
technology integrates with other tools,
like the Nurse Call systems and vital
sign monitoring, which will allow for
more efficient responses.
CenTrak ® Real-Time
Location System:
Location tracking is drastically
improving hospital efficiencies and
quality of care. NWMC is working
with CenTrak ® , the industry leader for
Enterprise Location Services, to enable
multiple clinical applications including:
asset management, hand hygiene
compliance monitoring, environmental
/ temperature monitoring, perioperative
workflow, patient flow, staff locating,
and nurse call automation. NWMC
is the only hospital in Broward
County using this advanced locating
technology.
MyCare Electronic
Whiteboards
are being installed in all hospital rooms.
Gone are the days of writing on a
whiteboard with a dry erase marker.
All patient information is updated on a
digital whiteboard at NWMC. When a
nurse enters a patient room the name of
the nurse automatically populates onto
the whiteboard so the patient knows
exactly who is in their room. Patients will
also be able to see their medications,
goals for the day and upcoming
procedures.
Hill Rom
Hand
Hygiene
goes
high-tech
with monitoring
systems
to improve
compliance
and reduce
infection rates.
NWMC staff
are reminded to wash their hands when
entering and exiting a patient room
keeping patients and staff safe from the
spread of infection.
These multiple advanced technologies
communicate with each other to deliver
seamless, streamlined, and meaningful
communication among clinicians and
the patients, enhancing the quality of
care as staff devotes more time at the
bedside with the patients who are the
center of their exceptional care.
the PARKLANDER 83