Versus Technology, Inc. Announces Successful Implementation of Automatic Hospital Tracking System at Anne Arundel Medical Center

      

Since the activation of Versus VISion(TM) asset tracking technology in October 2008, AAMC has been tracking 600 hospital assets in and between the AAMC Acute Care, Clatanoff and Edwards pavilions: over half a million square feet of hospital real estate. When the hospital completes a current expansion project adding a second patient tower, more than 3,000 hospital assets will be tracked using the Versus infrared and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

"Asset tracking with Versus is unique at AAMC in that, first and foremost, we're using this as a solution for our nursing staff, rather than the typical maintenance tool," said Richard Constantineau, Manager of Biomedical Engineering at AAMC. "The tracking initiative began with mobile medical equipment such as hospital beds, but we discovered within a week of the asset tracking software going live that nurses and escorts really need to find specialty items that biomed would never consider, such as recliners, walkers, and bariatric commodes."

Constantineau explained that searching for items across the hospital -- especially those in short supply -- can tax nursing efficiency and divert focus from clinical responsibilities. "Our immediate goal is to increase efficiencies for nursing staff, and to help them find the items they need quickly." According to Constantineau, it could take up to an hour or two per day, per nurse or escort to find equipment shifted across the expansive medical center. Now, it takes five minutes.

"In order for an asset tracking system to be useful, your staff have to be able to trust that they are looking at real-time results of where that asset is located at the moment," said Constantineau. "We tried several location systems on our wireless network, one for over a year and a half, but we couldn't get them to work correctly. We'd seen several systems fail, so I was very leery going into our asset tracking pilot with Versus -- but the system worked like a charm. We tried to get the system to read wrong, but it wouldn't break. We've never had an issue with Versus and the nursing staff love it."

The next steps at AAMC include expanding asset tracking to further enhance hospital efficiency and equipment monitoring while pushing forward a number of preventative maintenance goals. In January, the medical center will implement Versus Reports Plus(TM) software to establish equipment baselines for clinical areas, conduct an equipment flow study, and create a model for equipment storage. AAMC also plans to conduct a telemetry patient tracking pilot, integrate the location information to the nurse call system, and add staff locators to automate processes across the hospital.

"Working withAnne Arundel provided Versus the opportunity to demonstrate the accuracy and ease of use of our dual IR and active RFID system over other less accurate Wi-Fi systems," says Paul Timmerman, Versus' VP of Business Development. "We know our tracking system works; that physicians, nurses, and clinicians can depend on it. Versus is the most experienced RTLS vendor in the industry, with hundreds of clients and thousands of caregivers relying on our system 24/7. We look forward to assistingAnne Arundel with facility-wide location information to positively transform their healthcare delivery network."

About Anne Arundel Medical Center

Anne Arundel Health System began in 1902 as a not-for-profit community hospital to serve theMaryland capital city ofAnnapolis. Since then, it has evolved into a regional healthcare system serving nearly one million people in Maryland. Nearly 23,000 patients are admitted into Anne Arundel Medical Center each year. Additionally, more than 5,700 births and more than 72,000 emergency room visits are conducted at the medical center annually. In 2007, AAMC began expansion projects that will double the size of the hospital campus by the year 2011.

About Versus Technology, Inc.

Versus Technology, Inc. is the leader in the development and sale of context-aware real-time location systems (RTLS) used for enterprise patient tracking, bed management, and asset tracking to improve patient flow and caregiver/patient communications in hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities. Versus also develops dual infrared and Active RFID tags and other location tracking hardware to make locating systems more precise, security systems more intelligent, nurse call systems automatic, and hospital asset tracking systems more efficient. Indoor positioning through Versus' RTLS enhances existing hospital software and patient care systems with real-time, accurate and reliable location information. The Versus IR and Active RFID patient and asset tracking system is exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association and is a key component of their Patient Flow Platform -- which includes a select group of vendors that provide proven solutions to enhance patient flow and improve patient safety. (Pink Sheets: VSTI.PK; www.versustech.com)

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SOURCE Versus Technology, Inc.