Alerting system sends messages directly to STEGH’s nurses

ST. THOMAS, Ont. – St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH)’s Surgical Program recently implemented Masimo’s Patient SafetyNet equipment. By deploying this system, STEGH has created additional capacity for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to care for critically ill patients.

Patient SafetyNet is a supplemental remote monitoring and clinician notification system which displays near real-time information from any connected Masimo or third-party device at a central station and allows alarms and alerts from bedside devices to be sent directly to clinicians.

STEGH’s Surgical Care Program submitted an application to Ontario Health West’s Surgical Innovation Fund and received funding to adopt innovative technology that would create additional capacity for the ICU.

A select group of patients were identified as an early adopter group, based on acuity, length of stay and technological requirements. Masimo’s Patient SafetyNet provides functionality to automatically send critical alerts to the nurse’s communication device (Vocera) in real time, directly from the patient monitor.

This remote technology helps enable the provision of safe and high-quality care. It has allowed STEGH to free up ICU capacity for critically ill patients while ensuring the safety of patients in the Surgical Care Program.

By leveraging remote technology, additional nursing staff was not required, which is important in the current environment of human resource challenges.

“On January 26, STEGH officially launched the new technology with minimal issues. Nursing staff have adapted well to the new technology and workflow, and are pleased to care for more advanced surgical patients,” said George Foster, manager of the Surgical Program.

“This new functionality is scalable across the entire organization and will allow our hospital to leverage this technology in other new and innovative ways,” added Monica Olanski (pictured), vice president of Patient Care Services and chief information officer.