Ekahau Location-Based Safety and Temperature Alerting Improves Staff and Patient Safety at Memorial Healthcare

RESTON, Va., March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ekahau Inc., the leader in Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) announced today that Memorial Healthcare in Shiawassee County, Michigan, deployed its Wi-Fi-based RFID staff safety alert and wireless temperature monitoring solution to improve staff and patient safety.

As a leading 150-bed hospital with over 1,000 employees, 196,000 outpatients and 4,600 inpatients, staff and patient safety are top priorities at Memorial Healthcare. While the hospital had a legacy emergency alert system in place, Ekahau RTLS offers reliable, real-time location visibility over the existing Cisco Wi-Fi network and can readily expand to enable asset and patient tracking  in the future.

By giving Memorial Healthcare's security teams real-time visibility into staff locations during emergencies, the hospital expects to reduce response times to staff duress incidents logged by the housekeeping staff, techs, interns, doctors and nurses working in its 10,000 square foot behavioral health unit. Employees in distress simply pull down on their re-chargeable Wi-Fi safety badges worn on break-away lanyards, and their location appears on badge tags worn by the police and other staff closest to the emergency. Ekahau badges offer 2-way communications via badge LEDs, and hospital security teams can even monitor staff entry and exit into restricted geo-fenced zones via text and email alerts.

Memorial Healthcare also uses Ekahau Wi-Fi-based temperature sensors and Ekahau Vision™ software to reliably monitor commercial refrigeration units housing blood, tissue and medications. Ekahau RTLS ensures that near-breach temperatures trigger text and email alerts before spoilage impacts patient safety. In addition, Ekahau Vision™ software automatically logs all temperatures for Joint Commission compliance documentation without the use of manual logs that are prone to human error.

"Keeping caregivers visible and monitoring patient consumables using our Cisco Wireless LAN is game-changing. Ekahau RTLS is cost-effective to implement over Cisco Wi-Fi, reliable and instantly makes staff and patients feel safer," notes Frank Fear, CIO at Memorial Healthcare.

"Ekahau is proud to help Memorial Healthcare ensure staff and patient safety with location-based alert and sensor solutions that leverage the hospital's existing wireless LAN investment," states Mark Norris, President and CEO of Ekahau.

About Memorial Healthcare

Memorial Healthcare is a 150-bed facility with a medical staff of over 170 providers. With more than 1,000 employees, Memorial Healthcare is the largest employer in Shiawassee County. Our people are our most valuable resource. Their dedication to caring and high-tech knowledge are what differentiate us from all other health systems in the region.

About Ekahau Inc.   

Ekahau Inc. is the performance leader in providing Wi-Fi-based Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS). Ekahau RTLS includes Ekahau Vision™ and Ekahau RTLS Controller software as well as a broad selection of Wi-Fi-based smart tags which give staff and managers unprecedented visibility into the location, condition and status of assets, people and workflows. Thousands of Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, and other facilities rely on Ekahau's patented technology to reveal business intelligence that drives decision-making.  Ekahau partners include leading wireless software developers, systems integrators, and WLAN providers. Learn more about Innovation Through Location at: www.ekahau.com or on the Ekahau Blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contact:  Leila Nouri
Ph:  +1-703-860-2850 X1103
[email protected]

SOURCE Ekahau Inc.