Acetek Improves Care Capabilities at Maroba Caring Communities
Executive Summary
Maroba prides itself on offering its elderly residents the highest quality of care. Yet a failing phone system meant communicating both inside and out of this 155 bed aged care facility was becoming increasingly difficult.
Acetek was asked to engineer a customised healthcare solution to address communication, workflow and patient safety.
As well as upgrading the nurse call system to the next-generation technology allowing speech capability at the bed, Acetek recommended Vocera – a lightweight, wearable communication system that enables instant voice communications over a wireless network.
The upgraded Austco Tacera Nurse Call spoke to Vocera, and both spoke to the enhanced telephony system to bring Maroba an all-round game-changing result.
In the words of David Cole, Maroba’s Director of Finance and Corporate Services, ‘Productivity went through the roof.’
Improved efficiencies include:
- Streamlined care-team collaboration
- Stress-free management of inbound calls
- Faster response to residents’ needs
- Increased resident and family satisfaction
- Improved staff morale
Challenges – How to Meet the Requirements of Duty of Care with a Failing Communication System
Communication at Maroba was based on a desk and DECT (portable) phone system and the Austco 2G nurse call system. In the years following its establishment in 2008, IT server functioning and portable handsets had deteriorated.
This led to an increasingly frustrated information and process flow within the facility and family phone calls failing to connect.
- Damage and loss of DECT phones
Nursing is about hands-on management and carrying DECT phones is just not practical. At $1000 a handset, damaged or lost DECT phones were costly to replace.
- Calls dropping out
Phone calls from residents’ families were failing to be transferred since portable handsets went in and out of range as staff moved around the building. This led to complaints and dissatisfaction.
- Compromised care
Focus on nursing care was interrupted to answer the phone; troubleshoot phone issues; locate other staff members; look up numbers, etc.
Maroba is a service-orientated business, and the failing communication system was impacting operational efficiency, resident experience and satisfaction, resident safety and staff morale.
Solution – Enhancing the Patient, Staff and Family Experience with an Integrated Nurse Call System
In 2015, Maroba’s CEO, Viv Allanson asked Acetek to advise and facilitate the development and implementation of a new solution.
Her goal was to improve care-team communication and collaboration, as well as incoming call management. The challenge was to develop and integrate a solution that would have all the elements connecting seamlessly to each other.
‘Working with the Acetek guys allowed us to get everyone round the table and maximise available technologies and get the best out of the whole lot. Acetek were great collaborators – they introduced us to Vocera. They brought us the solution we’d been waiting for.’
Acetek assessed Maroba’s needs and requirements, exploring available options before recommending Vocera – a secure, scalable and intelligent communication system that links people and information via a mobile system of hands-free devices.
The system features a light-weight pendant worn around the neck. By pressing a button and saying aloud an individual’s name, title or function, staff are instantly connected.
The project was smoothly managed by Acetek with minimal troubleshooting required.
Strong collaboration between multiple partners ensured installation of the platform was completed within 6 months, on time and on budget.
‘We were relying on Acetek to be the glue – the coordinator of the whole project,’ said David Cole, ’And they met all our expectations. They’ve been invaluable in making sure it all works.’
For Maroba’s bespoke solution, Acetek engineered the Wi-Fi backbone to speak to the Austco Tacera system (it’s one of the only systems that reliably takes inputs from Vocera on a stable Linux backbone).
The Vocera software runs on an enterprise Wi-Fi platform with centralised intelligence, speech recognition engine and databases.
Over 100 pendants are tied directly to the phone system allowing connection between all key members of Maroba staff.
Residents can communicate remotely with carers and vice versa, bringing enhanced safety, security and satisfaction all round.
Features include:-
- 2-way bedside voice communication between resident and carer
- Broadcast everyone
- Call flow and escalation
- Find and call
- Rapid response
- Alert notification
- Text messaging
- Do not disturb mode
- Conference calling
- Results – Improved connection, communication and collaboration
The new technology has brought significant productivity improvements and eliminated numerous inefficiencies. Staff are enthusiastic, and assisted reception and admin functions have meant residents and their families are better supported too.
- The Vocera device allows care staff total mobility and instant communication with residents and other staff. Locating personnel or information is as simple as touching a button. Staff have found it easy to learn and simple to use.
- Improved Wi-Fi coupled with the Vocera system means calls from outside are answered immediately and transferred successfully to residents. Care staff can communicate on the run and are more accessible to residents.
- The system is robust and reliable. However, any problems that do arise can be remotely troubleshooted. There’s no need to wait for an engineer to arrive onsite and Acetek offers support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
- Acetek has built the system with the latest in electronic and IP technologies ensuring it is future-proofed with flexibility and scalability to accommodate further expansion.
‘The whole thing had to flow and coordinate step-by-step and we were pretty impressed with how it all came together. I’d be happy to recommend Acetek. They were professional and collaborative problem-solvers. They made our life really easy.’ David Cole, Director of Finance and Corporate Services.
Considering an upgraded technology solution for your healthcare facility? We combine our communication expertise and strong customer support with the best technologies available to bring you the ultimate solution.
Contact Acetek today on 02 8748 9000.
Acetek – Because Better Communication Enables Better Care
