Customer Spotlight

Broadlawns Medical Center

TECHNOLOGIES: Healthcare

Background

As a 200-bed facility, Broadlawns Medical Center employs more than 400 nurses, 100 physicians, and 1,200 fulltime staff members who provide high-quality, coordinated, compassionate, and cost-effective healthcare for patients across central Iowa.

Annually, the medical center conducts 4,500 surgeries; handles 2,700 inpatient admissions; and manages 22,000+ ER visits. Its medical campus includes an acute-care hospital, emergency services, inpatient and outpatient services, lab and radiology services, mental health services, specialty clinics, dentistry, and a 24-hour crisis team.

CustomerNeeds

Struggling with sunsetting nurse call technology, Broadlawns Medical Center wanted to upgrade its nurse call system before support was no longer available and replacement components became difficult to find.

Interaction and communication were manual processes and often involved broadcasting announcements into rooms to locate nurses, which was disruptive to patients and impacted comfort and satisfaction. When a call light went off, a qualified staff member would check the nurses’ station console. From there, they would call a nearby nurse (or go look for an available nurse) to address the patient’s needs.

With a new nurse call system, Broadlawns Medical Center wanted to improve workflow and eventually roll out integrated wireless technology that could send the right tasks to the right people.

Solution

Broadlawns Medical Center had successfully partnered with CEC on previous projects and appreciated the insight from the healthcare team as they investigated new options for nurse call.

After working with CEC, the medical center has:

  • A nurse call solution that notifies staff when a patient needs help and indicates specific needs, saving valuable time.
  • VoIP touchscreens at patient doors that activate call processes—including rounding, wound care, and pain assessment—with the touch of a button.
  • Customizability to configure lights and tones based on specific workflows.
  • A system that integrates with environmental services so messages can be sent when rooms are ready for cleaning or disinfection.
  • Streamlined visual communication. With a simple glance, staff and clinicians can take note of potential fall risks, families going through bereavement periods, etc.
  • The ability to track data and run reports on data ranging from room turnover time to call light response time. The team plans to use this information to enhance productivity and offer training in areas where improvement is needed.
  • Lower voice levels across patient floors and fewer announcements required to locate clinicians.
  • The ability to integrate its nurse call system with wireless devices so nurses can receive updates and communicate on the go.

“CEC absolutely delivered. Their team was engaged, easy to work with, and detail-oriented when it came to mapping out our needs and processes to ensure we didn’t miss things. They took the necessary amount of time needed to identify the right piece of equipment to achieve our objectives. They were an active partner in the planning process and helped navigate the implementation. From a clinical standpoint, there’s a huge value in the efficiency and effectiveness of the new call light system and how it positively impacts our staff and patients.”

Lance Schmitt Administrator of Acute Inpatient Operation, Broadlawns Medical Center
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