TeleHealth Services and Central Baptist Hospital Launch Interactive Patient Education Initiative in Preparation for Meaningful Use

LEXINGTON, Ky. and RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- TeleHealth Services, the nation's leading provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient education solutions, today announced an extended partnership with Central Baptist Hospital. The 383-bed hospital, an early adopter to on-demand education, implemented TIGR as their interactive patient education and entertainment solution as a part of their "meaningful use" project, and the further utilization of advanced technologies to increase the quality of healthcare at the facility.

Central Baptist Hospital has adopted the idea of healthcare transformation through the effective use of technology, and that patients have the right to accurate and complete information in order to make informed healthcare decisions. One focus of this initiative was to provide an environment where innovative technology enhances optimal outcomes care by advancing patient and family engagement via tools supporting shared-decision making. Central Baptist's thoughtful integration of the best available scientific knowledge with clinical expertise and the implementation of evidence-based technologies is structured to provide better health and quality of life for the people of Kentucky and surrounding areas. To further their efforts, Central Baptist sought a technology solutions provider that could provide the hospital with a multi-dimensional offering that would enhance the hospital's performance on quality, safety and patient satisfaction measures. After examining the TIGR V7 interactive patient education system and TeleHealth's turnkey solutions approach, Central Baptist Hospital chose TeleHealth Services because of their experience and the additional opportunities the partnership would provide.

"We take pride in the state-of-the-art technology and comprehensive medical services at Central Baptist Hospital," said David Saier, media specialist for Central Baptist Hospital. "TeleHealth's TIGR system enhances our services by providing a comprehensive, easy-to-use solution for our staff that is designed to educate patients and enhance productivity. The patient-centric content, executing on evidence-based practice and the principles of promoting health literacy, helps the clinical staff support our quality care goals."

As the nation's leading interactive patient education solution, TIGR enables hospitals to improve the patient experience while increasing the value, quality and service of healthcare delivery. TIGR is an interactive patient and staff education system featuring video-on-demand access to a hospital's entire library of educational videos available directly at the patient's bedside. Complemented by automated documentation capabilities and comprehension testing, TIGR simplifies education delivery while providing automated service recovery to proactively respond to patient feedback.

"Because there is a strong correlation between the success of a patient's treatment and recovery plan and that patient's access to specific information about their health condition, it is essential that healthcare providers have an easy way to deliver education to their patient population," said Keenan Hagenburg, Vice President of Sales, TeleHealth Services. "We are excited about the partnership with Central Baptist Hospital and look forward to the added value it will bring to the facility as they move forward toward their EMR implementation and their quality initiatives. Utilization of the TIGR interactive patient education system means that even more patients and their families will become empowered to further participate in their recovery."

About Central Baptist Hospital

Located in Lexington, Ky., Central Baptist Hospital offers some of the most advanced medical facilities, technologies and capabilities available in the region. Since opening in 1954, Central Baptist has been committed to finding ways to serve the people of Kentucky's Bluegrass area. What began more than 55 years ago as a 173-bed community hospital is now a 383-bed major medical research and education center. The vision of Central Baptist Hospital is to be innovators in delivery of health services, anticipating and responding to a changing healthcare environment through collaborative models that are outcome driven, financially responsible, and supportive of our mission

About TeleHealth Services:

With more than 2,500 healthcare clients across the country, TeleHealth Services is the nation's leading provider of integrated technology and communications solutions for the healthcare market. Combining 50+ years of healthcare expertise and partnerships with industry leading manufacturers, TeleHealth Services is uniquely positioned to offer a full suite of hospital technology solutions that includes:

• Interactive patient and staff education platforms
• Healthcare-grade televisions and accessories
• Patient protection and security systems
• Bedside patient entertainment solutions
• The latest educational and entertainment content
• Custom designed communication systems
• Comprehensive design, implementation, and service packages
• Flexible financing solutions

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., TeleHealth Services is a division of Telerent Leasing Corporation. Telerent, founded in 1957, operates as a subsidiary of ITOCHU International, Inc.  For more information on TeleHealth, call 800-733-8610, or visit at http://www.telehealth.com/.

SOURCE TeleHealth Services