PENINSULA UNITED METHODIST HOMES COMPLETES ENTERPRISE-WIDE DEPLOYMENT OF ACCUNURSE VOICE-ASSISTED

AccuNurse® Improves Productivity Throughout Four Facilities, Improves State Survey Results and Enables Resident Care Teams to Boost Time with Residents

PITTSBURGH, JANUARY 31, 2008 - Vocollect Healthcare Systems, Inc., the leading provider of voice-assisted care, announces that Peninsula United Methodist Homes, Inc. (PUMH), located in Hockessin, Delaware, has completed its enterprise-wide implementation of AccuNurse voice-assisted care at all four of their skilled nursing facilities in Delaware and Maryland. This investment covers all 225 of their skilled nursing facility residents has improved care-staff productivity, enabled more proactive care and boosted time with residents. PUMH first deployed AccuNurse in Cokesbury Village; Country House was next to come online, followed by Manor House; and then Heron Point in Chestertown, Maryland.

At two of the four facilities, PUMH replaced the kiosks they were using to document care with AccuNurse voice-assisted care. As a result, PUMH was able to provide its care staff the capability to access information on-demand, complete paperwork simply by talking, and get immediate help by saying ‘page.’ “AccuNurse was the bridge to more time at the bedside - getting our CNAs away from paper or touch screens and allowing them to have more time with our residents,” said Donna Pomeroy, director of health services for PUMH Cokesbury Village in Hockessin, Delaware. “Multitasking is a huge productivity gain and AccuNurse enables this like no other system.” Prior to AccuNurse the facility reported three overlapping shifts of 8.5 hours each. The half-hour overlap was used for documentation and reporting, and with AccuNurse is no longer needed. “We’ve seen 30 minutes per CNA given back to our residents,” according to Theresa Green, RN at Cokesbury Village.

The care team at Cokesbury’s sister facility, Country House, has seen similar gains, including a 19% drop in turnover across nursing functions. Country House also reports AccuNurse helped the team through a tough survey. “AccuNurse helped me stand my ground and be successful in a recent survey citation dispute,” said Kim Drake, RN and director of health services at PUMH Country House.

“Without the impressive presentation and thorough documentation, the surveyors would have been left to question the care that had been delivered. Our CNAs can get information as well as give information. My team loves knowing they’re not alone, and they never have to leave a resident alone. If they need help, they can page all staff or a specific staff member. It’s private and it’s fast.”

At PUMH Manor House, Scott Fenton, RN and director of health services, says his team is always aware of the residents’ likes, dislikes and what their overall care needs are. “We no longer have to go to a flow sheet, a binder or a filing cabinet,” he said. “All the information is right there, in their ear, wherever they are within the facility. It’s this type of empowerment that really drives improved quality of care.”

Manor House is also using AccuNurse as a ‘selling point’ for new recruits. “When we saw the positive reaction our staff had with AccuNurse, we decided to bring it into our recruiting program,” said Fenton. “Potential applicants are really impressed with it. They don’t have to work with pen and paper anymore. It gives the potential applicant the knowledge that our organization invests in their jobs and makes their lives easier. We are truly leading-edge.”

In addition to completing expansion of voice-assisted care across all four of its facilities, PUMH also integrated AccuNurse with its nurse call system, which eliminated the need for caregivers to wear separate pagers or other devices. Caregivers and nurses can also initiate resident room pages with simple voice requests. All are monitored in AccuNurse for timeliness of response and increased care for residents of PUMH. 

“Voice-assisted care has positively impacted PUMH on a number of levels,” said Terri White, vice president of operations for PUMH. “From operating costs and efficiencies to new levels of resident-centered care and competitive advantage, our facilities are seeing marked improvements across the board. Together, these improvements have a tremendously positive impact on resident care, and that’s really the most important goal.”

About Vocollect Healthcare Systems

Vocollect Healthcare Systems is a subsidiary of Vocollect, Inc., which helps workers in supply chain operations six continents maximize accuracy and productivity through the power of voice. In long-term settings, care teams use simple spoken dialog to hear customized resident care needs and document activities as they are completed, simply by talking. As a result, communities benefit from higher accuracy and efficiency, maximized reimbursements, and more proactive care. 

Vocollect® is a registered trademark of Vocollect, Inc.; AccuNurse® is a registered trademark of Vocollect Healthcare Systems.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Clement, jclement-at-healthcare.vocollect.com, 412.825.5336