Voalte, a provider of healthcare communication technology, announced that West Penn Hospital, part of Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network (AHN), is using Voalte smartphones to help monitor and care for premature and critically ill infants in its Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), including a new, $23 million, all-private bed expansion.
Using Apple iPhones with Voalte Platform for integrated voice, alerts and secure text messaging, the entire AHN Women and Children Institute team based at West Penn Hospital is connected via a unified directory and simple search capabilities, enabling efficient communication among a large team that includes nurses, neonatologists, obstetrician/gynecologists, pediatricians, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists and others. Instant notifications help the team monitor patients’ conditions with GE patient monitoring and instantly initiate call-backs into the patient room via Rauland nurse call and Connexall middleware. The “pager-free” notification system enables caregivers to receive instant notifications about patients’ conditions directly on their smartphones.
“Our new NICU offers patients the highest level of care in addition to beautifully equipped private rooms that deliver the comfort and quiet that is so important to the families of premature or critically ill infants,” said Jacqueline Collavo, VP and Chief Nursing Officer at West Penn Hospital. “We chose Voalte Platform for its unified directory, which makes it easy to reach any member of the care team quickly and quietly, and for the customized workflows it enables for responding instantly to alarms and alerts.”
“West Penn Hospital is the first in the Pittsburgh area to deploy iPhones at the point of care for clinical communication and alarm integration,” said Trey Lauderdale, Founder and CEO of Voalte. “As NICUs throughout the country transition from ward-style to private room settings, Voalte Platform becomes essential for patient safety and the caregiver’s peace of mind. We’re pleased to partner with West Penn to help them care for these tiny, vulnerable patients.”
