Newton-Wellesley Hospital is First in the United States to Implement EarlySense Proactive Patient Monitoring System as Standard of Care

NEWTON, Mass., Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Newton-Wellesley Hospital is the first hospital in the United States to implement continuous and contact-free monitoring on all general care beds. The decision to adopt EarlySense as the Standard of Care came after a successful clinical trial led by researchers from Harvard Medical School.

The implementation of the EarlySense System is part of Newton-Wellesley's continued efforts to optimize patient care, and ensure quality, safety and efficiency for patients.  The system offers advanced technology designed to identify early warning signs around patient safety and risk, and potentially adverse situations.

"The EarlySense System enhances the high quality of care we already provide at Newton-Wellesley Hospital by assisting clinical staff in detecting patient deterioration and the potential for an adverse event early on. By utilizing this technology, we feel we have added another layer of patient safety," said Elaine Bridge, RN, MBA, DNP, Interim COO and Chief Nursing Officer, Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Clinical studies have provided evidence that respiratory rate and heart rate are the two most important predictors for averting potential patient adverse events. By using a sensor placed under the mattress, the EarlySense system measures heart rate, respiration rate, and patient movement while in bed. The nursing team receives real time alerts on mobile devices and/or at the control center located in the nurse's station if there are changes or findings that require attention. In addition, remote displays are frequently used for even more viewing options in all areas of a care environment.

David Bates, Director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice one of the lead researchers in the trial, said, "The ability to find patients early in deterioration has enormous potential to improve patient safety.  One of the reasons that EarlySense has been so successful is that not only are the sensors accurate, but they have developed approaches to sift through the alarms so that when one is delivered there is a high chance that there is an important clinical change, and the nurses have learned to take these alerts seriously."

Tim O'Malley, President of EarlySense Inc. said, "We are very excited to see Newton-Wellesley Hospital leading the way by standardizing patient supervision and creating new patient safety standards for the community. The partnership between Newton-Wellesley Hospital and EarlySense is providing the nursing team with innovative solutions designed to enhance patient safety while being conducive to the general floor environment."

"At Newton-Wellesley, we constantly strive for a culture of constant improvement, and this new technology helps us fuel that culture and provide even better care to our patients," added Bridge.

About Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Newton-Wellesley Hospital is one of 100 hospitals (and in the top 25%) recently lauded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and George Washington University for its participation in a prestigious national program to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

Newton-Wellesley is a full system member of Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (PHCS), a nonprofit organization that includes acute care hospitals Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals, The North Shore Medical Center, and specialty hospitals McLean Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, as well as Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care, and the community-based doctors and hospitals of Partners Community HealthCare, Inc.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital provides a wide range of services, including medical, surgical, obstetrical, orthopaedic, neonatal, pediatric and psychiatric care. Newton-Wellesley has been serving its community for over a century. The medical staff of the Hospital includes nearly 1,000 physicians practicing a full range of specialties. NWH is a major teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine and also has established post-graduate training programs for Harvard Medical School residents.

About EarlySense
EarlySense has brought to market an innovative technology designed to advance proactive patient care and enable clinicians to achieve better patient outcomes, by assisting in preventing adverse events from occurring. The company's flagship product, the EarlySense System is a continuous, contact-free, patient monitoring solution that monitors and documents a patient's vital signs and movement using a sensor that is placed underneath a bed mattress. There are no leads or cuffs to connect to the patient who ha complete freedom of movement and is not burdened by any cumbersome attachments.  The system is designed to monitor non-ICU "lower risk" patients on medical surgical floors who are usually monitored by nursing staff approximately once every four hours. The system is currently installed at hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the USA and Europe. It is also commercially available in Canada. Early Sense INC is headquartered in Waltham, MA. For additional information please visit www.earlysense.com. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. See short overview video.

SOURCE EarlySense