Nurse call systems for hospitals

Nurse call systems for hospitals

Nurse Call Systems

A nurse call button, found on a hospital bed, allows patients in health care settings to alert a nurse or other staff member. When pressed, a signal alerts staff at the nurse’s station and a nurse responds to the request. Some systems also allow the patient to speak directly to the staffer; others simply beep or buzz at the station, requiring a staffer to actually visit the patient’s room to determine the patient’s needs.

The call button provides the following benefits to patients:

  • Allows a patient who is confined to bed and has no other way of communicating with staff to alert a nurse of the need for any type of assistance
  • Enables a patient who is able to get out of bed, but for whom this may be hazardous, exhausting, or otherwise difficult to alert a nurse of the need for any type of assistance
  • Provides the patient an increased sense of security

The call button can also be used by a health care staff member already with the patient to call for another when such assistance is needed, or by visitors to call for help on behalf of the patient.

There are four categories that Nurse Call Systems fall into.

Basic

The basic system is a simple button for the patient. When the button is pressed, nursing staff is alerted by a light and/or an audible sound at the nurse’s station. This can only be turned off from the patient’s bedside, thereby compelling staff to respond to the patient.

Wireless Nurse Call

Like wired systems, wireless types have the ability to alert nursing staff by sound, light or show messages in a terminal. An advantage is that there is less wiring during installation, reducing the costs. The dome lights in the hallway still may require wiring for power. Disadvantages of wireless systems include the requirement of batteries in each patient station that must be monitored and replaced over the life of the system, heightened risk of signal interference with other systems in the facility.

Intercoms

In some facilities, often in hospitals, a more advanced system is included, in which staff from the nurse’s station can communicate directly with patients via intercom. This has the advantage in which staff does not need to waste time walking to the patient’s room to determine the reason the patient made the call, and they can determine by speaking to the patient whether the situation is urgent or if it can wait until later.

With the intercom system, the alert can be turned off from the nurse’s station, allowing staff to avoid entry into the patient’s room if it is determined that the patient’s need can be met without doing so.

Cellphone Alerts

Newer technology allows call buttons to reach cellphone-like devices carried around by nursing staff. Staffers can then answer the calls from wherever they are located within the facility, thereby improving the speed and efficiency in the response.

Nurse Call System have become an integral part of the total communications package in healthcare. When used in conjunction with an IP, hybrid or analog telephone system, multi-site networking, call accounting, call recording and wireless communications these solutions make it easier and more transparent for patients, vendors and staff. Call Midwest Telephone for all of your communication needs.

Wide Area (Multi-Site) Networking

A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network or computer network that extends over a large geographical distance. Wide area networks often are established with leased telecommunication circuits.

Business, healthcare, education and government entities use wide area networks to share data among staff, students, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations. In essence, this mode of telecommunication allows a business to effectively carry out its daily function regardless of location. The Internet may be considered a WAN.

Related terms for other types of networks are personal area networks (PANs), local area networks (LANs), campus area networks (CANs), or metropolitan area networks (MANs) which are usually limited to a room, building, campus or specific metropolitan area respectively. We have several health care related customers that have multiple offices within a metropolitan area and have helped these offices share their data or voice communications across these offices. These customers are benefitted by not having to incur the cost of complete communications system at each office. A smaller remote office can piggyback off the investment made a larger regional or corporate office.

Multi-Site voice and data networks have become an integral part of the total communications package in healthcare. When used in conjunction with an IP, hybrid or analog telephone system, nurse call systems, call accounting, call recording and wireless communications these solutions make it easier and more transparent for patients, vendors and staff. Call Midwest Telephone Co., Inc. for all of your communication needs.

The mark of our success as a company is how happy our customers are when we’ve finished their telephone system install or repair.