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Hoana is launching an aggressive Luminary program in conjunction with theIHI event, to introduce its LifeGurney system, focused on overcrowding in theemergency room. "We are partnering with six leading emergency room sitesacross the USA to address overcrowding issues facing almost all hospitals,"said Dr. Patrick Sullivan, President & CEO of Hoana Medical. "IHI focuses onquality improvement, and Hoana offers patient safety solutions that supportnurses and physicians in providing the highest quality health care available."
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Nursing labor shortages, tighter economic resources, overcrowding inemergency rooms and other "holding areas" culminate in a growing problem andcan lead to patient diversions, stoppage of elective surgery and increasedpatient dissatisfaction -- all of which negatively impact hospital throughputand revenue. According to the Joint Commission, "one half of all 'sentinelevent' cases of poor outcomes that were attributable to delays in therapyoriginated in the emergency department, with overcrowding playing a role inalmost one third of these cases."
Being hospitalized should provide patients with the highest levels of carepossible. Yet even in the best hospitals, patients experience falls --sometimes with severe injury -- or develop avoidable conditions such aspressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, or life-threatening conditions.These conditions contribute to the rising cost of health care and lead to anestimated 200,000 deaths annually.
All of these conditions have been found to be "nurse sensitive" indicators-- meaning that the more Registered Nurses (RNs) that are employed, the lesslikely patients are to suffer from these conditions. RNs are at the frontlines of patient safety in hospitals, providing careful observation,assessment and interventions for changes in a patient's condition. Thisimportant function is defined as vigilance, which has been described as theessence of the nursing profession. Providing vigilance is becomingincreasingly difficult, with the growing worldwide nursing shortage,compounded by budgetary constraints impinging on all areas of health care.
Decreasing the number of RNs places health care organizations in theuntenable position of choosing cost reduction over patient safety. Yet,reductions in nurse staffing levels are becoming more commonplace in thesedifficult economic times, as administrators struggle to reduce personnelspending to balance already strained budgets. Patient mortality increases by7% for each patient beyond 4 for whom a RN is responsible; a study of 6million discharges demonstrated that multiple complications -- including death-- were significantly higher in hospitals with fewer RNs. Results of researchfrom the third multi-site research project demonstrating the impact of theLifeBed on nurse workflow and workload will be shared during the conference byDrs. T. Heather Herdman & Larry Burgess.
Recent technological advances are able to provide solutions to nursingstaff now dealing with higher patient acuity and patient volumes, such thatpatients can benefit from safe care in the unfortunate climate of increasednurse-staffing ratios. Innovative hospitals are using the LifeBed(TM) PatientVigilance System to enhance patient safety even in these difficult economictimes. This technology provides a cost-effective methodology to enhancevigilance, by providing continuous heart and respiratory rate monitoring andfall prevention.
LifeBed technology provides heart and respiratory rates of patients whilethey are in bed -- without any leads or wires connected to the patient. When apatient's heart or respiratory rate goes out of an acceptable range, nursesare alerted through the nurse call system that is already in use in theirhospital. Patients at risk for falls are also made safer through the use of apatient fall system that can be set based on an individual's anticipated fallrisk. Continuous vigilance monitoring allows RNs to confidently provide directcare for one patient, knowing that the LifeBed system is constantly trackingall other patients. This patient safety system has nearly 2 million hours ofpatient use, and has been found to identify patients in distress when a RN isnot in the room. In a recently completed multicenter trial, nurses spent moretime in patient care activities after institution of continuous vigilancemonitoring, which reduces morbidity and mortality based on previous research.
About Hoana Medical, Inc.
Launched in 2002, Hoana Medical, Inc. is the world's leading healthcarecompany focused on "Intelligent Medical Vigilance" in acute care hospitalswhere approximately 200,000 people die from errors and mistakes. Itmanufacturers two Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared offerings: theLifeBed(TM) Patient Vigilance System, focused on the medical-surgical ward ofthe acute care hospital and the LifeGurney(TM) Patient Vigilance System,focused on the emergency department of the acute care hospital. Hoana'sPatient Vigilance System, transforms any hospital bed or stretcher into aLifeBed(TM) System, or LifeGurney(TM) System, by tracking a patient's vitalsigns without any wires or connections to the patient. At the intersectionbetween information technology and medical devices, the LifeBed(TM) Systemacts like another set of eyes for the nurse and alerts if a patient is introuble. It delivers "vigilance" in an untethered and invisible manner,however, if the patient is in trouble, the LifeBed(TM) System alerts, bringingnurses to the bedside. Experience on more than 18,000 individual hospitalpatients around the U.S. has yielded several hundred dramatic stories ofnurses intervening to save a patient's life. Hoana is headquartered inHonolulu, Hawaii. For more information, please visit http://www.hoana.com
About Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is an independentnot-for-profit organization helping to lead the improvement of health carethroughout the world. Founded in 1991 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts,IHI works to accelerate improvement by building the will for change,cultivating promising concepts for improving patient care, and helping healthcare systems put those ideas into action.
The aim of IHI is to improve the lives of patients, the health ofcommunities, and the joy of the health care workforce by focusing on anambitious set of goals adapted from the Institute of Medicine's siximprovement aims for the health care system: Safety, Effectiveness,Patient-Centeredness, Timeliness, Efficiency, and Equity ("No Needless List"):
IHI works with health professionals throughout the world to accelerate themeasurable and continual progress of health care systems toward these boldobjectives, leading to breakthrough improvements that are truly meaningful inthe lives of patients.
We will be a recognized and generous leader, a trustworthy partner, andthe first place to turn for expertise, help, and encouragement for anyone,anywhere who wants to change health care profoundly for the better.-- No needless deaths -- No needless pain or suffering -- No helplessness in those served or serving -- No unwanted waiting -- No waste -- No one left out
SOURCE Hoana Medical, Inc.
