West-Com Nurse Call Systems, Inc.

It's day 2 for exhibitors in Kansas City, MO! We're hoping to see some new (and some familiar!) faces over the next two days. Please take a moment to come see us and let us know what the most important initiatives are for your facility in the last few months of 2022 and what big things you're planning for 2023. If you have patient and caregiver collaboration and increased patient safety on the agenda, we'd love to become a partner and help you realize those goals. Our purpose-built solutions can be tailored to fit your facility's unique needs today and in the future. Sheila and Chris can't wait to see you!

We’re spending the next few days with our partner, the NRHA, at their Critical Access Hospital Conference in Kansas City, MO. If you’re planning to attend, we hope you’ll join us in our booth so we can learn more about the patient and caregiver collaboration initiatives in your facility. Safe travels, and we hope to see you Wednesday and Thursday!

Learn more about the conference here: https://www.ruralhealth.us/events-(1)/custom-event-details?eventId=24

Critical Access Hospital Conference- NRHA Join clinic and CAH stakeholders from across the country for NRHA’s Rural Health Clinic and Critical Access Hospital Conferences, Sept. 20-23.

Monday Meet & Greet: Sheila Dempsey RN, BSN

Sheila joined our team in September 2019 as our director of clinical solutions. In December 2020, Sheila transitioned into an interim regional director for the Midwest to help fill a void. Sheila had much success in the regional director role and built solid relationships with our distributors and customers, so it was only natural that when an opportunity in her home region became available, Sheila took the position.

About Sheila: "I grew up in Drexel Hill, PA, a suburb west of Philadelphia. I attended West Chester University, where I earned my BSN. Over the last 37 years, I have spent time working in clinical settings in a variety of ways. First, I worked as a med-surg nurse for a few years and then transitioned into the ICU for 5 years. I eventually moved to the OR for more than 10 years. While an OR nurse, I was recruited to become a clinical educator for a major wound care company. After 6 months, I was promoted to an account sales executive, a role I held for 10 years. I then moved into surgical sales and account management for other medical devices and capital equipment.

I am very passionate about educating our customers on our innovative products, leveraging my strong clinical and sales backgrounds to create the best outcomes for everyone. In my current role at West-Com, I help hospitals and health systems achieve their patient and caregiver collaboration goals, with state-of-the-art, purpose-built solutions, carefully designed for each facility’s unique needs."

Favorite Hobbies: "In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my granddaughter, who loves the beach as much as I do! I also really love playing golf (my newest hobby!) and pickleball, and of course sitting and watching the sunset with my husband, with a glass (or two) of vino!"

Happy World Patient Safety Day from all of us at West-Com!

Since 2017, the number of patients who choose their healthcare provider based on access to digital health tools has DOUBLED. A recent study by the 2021 Healthcare Consumer Market Report shows “53% of consumers are likely to switch providers for superior virtual care offerings.” If we take a step back from traditional virtual care--a virtual physician’s visit for a common illness from the privacy of your home--and think about the implications for acute care patients during their stay IN the hospital, the idea of virtual care can change a patient’s experience dramatically.

Research shows that rural and critical access hospitals are a primary driver of the economy in their communities. Outside of the obvious economic benefits of profitable healthcare alone, these facilities are typically the largest employers in the area, too. That means it’s incredibly important for the health of the facility, and the health of the community, to treat patients locally, and reduce the number of patient transfers to larger urban facilities.

Take a peek at how West-Com approaches virtual care in rural America, and see first hand one hospital’s journey to delivering better care. You can find it here: https://www.westcomncs.com/resource/rural-health/

Rural Health | West-Com Nurse Call Systems How West-Com is helping rural health and critical access hospitals improve access to quality care within local communities through virtual care.

Did you know West-Com has new resources to help you get started establishing a virtual care protocol for your facility? We published an article earlier this week, and we invite you to take a look! https://www.linkedin.com/posts/westcomncs_telehealth-virtualcare-healthcareit-activity-6972981372600672256-8Rn7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

And if you’re interested in seeing how we’ve been able to help one of our partner hospitals in Nebraska, you can watch their story here! https://youtu.be/Wdg-Uk7QmEc

Simplifying Care Communication with West-Com Learn how West-Com integrates disparate technology to simplify healthcare communication and improve the delivery of care.

Happy Labor Day to our friends, family, team, partners, customers and distributors! We hope you’re enjoying the long weekend and are spending the extra time doing what you love.

Did you know that a study done by the Joint Commission revealed that communication breakdowns were at the root of over 70% of sentinel events? The bright side is that means improving patient and caregiver collaboration and communication can have an immediate and substantial impact on patient safety and patient outcomes. At West-Com, our purpose-built suite of technology solutions helps facilitate communication among care teams, streamlines caregiver workflows, decreases medication and medical errors for the patient, and drives increased patient outcomes. Take a look at how these solutions have helped one of our partner hospitals by clicking here: https://www.westcomncs.com/resource/rural-health/

Monday Meet and Greet: John Wailes

John joined the West-Com team earlier this summer as Regional Sales Director, supporting hospitals and healthcare systems in the Western part of the U.S.

About John: I began my college days at a private school in the Midwest called Wabash College where I participated as both a collegiate swimmer and rugby player. I ultimately transferred schools and graduated from Indiana University. I am a US Army Military Police Officer and Firefighter and am a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom. After the military, I spent a short time in facility operations management before settling into healthcare sales, which is where I have been for the past 10 years. I have sold various products and services in hospital environments, clinics, and ambulatory surgery centers. I currently live in the Denver, CO area with my wife and two daughters.

Favorite Hobbies: In my free time, I enjoy hiking, biking, camping, and exploring the outdoors with my family. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, barbequing, and smoking meat so of course cooking and eating good food makes my list too!

On August 10, the National Quality Forum (NQF) released a report outlying 37 health measures designed to address specific needs of communities in rural areas. Among the measures discussed are ways to improve HCAHPS scores, a common initiative on every facility's radar. The report is designed to assist rural healthcare providers in selecting the most relevant methods to implement based on their local population and implementation feasibility.

West-Com is dedicated to helping our healthcare customers in their quest to improve the patient and caregiver experience. Want to learn more? Click the link to request a demo: https://lnkd.in/gq8EZtZG

Not long ago, Kendra Brown, CNO for Kearney County Health Services had a patient that would put her on a mission to dramatically change access to care for those in her community. Since implementing West-Com's care collaboration technology, she's now able to keep her patients in their home community while still connecting them to specialists, physicians and family, both near and far.

It's Monday Meet & Greet!

Andrew Cook recently joined the West-Com team as a Regional Sales Director in the Southeast.

About Andrew: I grew up in Alabama and attended Samford University, where I earned my degree in Nursing. I later earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management from Colorado Christian University, and an MBA from LSU. Over the last 28 years, I have spent time working in a clinical setting in a variety of ways. First in orthopedic trauma and as an orthopedic coordinator, and then moved into Surgical Sales and Account Management for other medical devices and capital equipment. I am really passionate about positive leadership and coaching team members to be the best versions of themselves. In my new role at West-Com, I help hospitals and health systems achieve their patient and caregiver collaboration goals.

Favorite Hobbies: In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my wife and three children. I also really love to hunt and fish!

We’re so glad to have you aboard, Andrew!

Did you know the Health Resources and Services Administration just funded a grant for the SHIP Program? SHIP, Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program, provides the opportunity for healthcare facilities to apply for funding for the improvement and implementation of hardware, software, and training programs to improve the delivery of patient care.

If you’re a rural hospital looking for ways to modernize your patient and caregiver communication strategy, click here https://www.hrsa.gov/grants/find-funding/HRSA-23-033 to learn more about eligibility for grant funds. The deadline to apply is November 9, 2022.

Have questions about solutions that meet funding requirements? Comment below or reach out to us directly. We're here to help.

National Rural Health Association

Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) | HRSA About the program Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-23-033 Dates to Apply: 08/10/2022 to 11/08/2022 Bureau/Office: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Status: Open Estimated Award Date: 06/01/2023 Apply on Grants.gov Track Your Application Email Us This notice announces the opportunity to apply for...

We love hearing things like this from our customers! Dr. Thomas had a dream for his facility, and working as a team, we helped him make it a reality. That’s our .

By 2026, it’s estimated that the US will have a shortage of 3.2M healthcare workers. At present, 22% of nurses intend to leave their jobs in the next year. Those are scary numbers!

What we’ve learned is that forced digitization and caregiver burnout are primary drivers of the Great Resignation. Too many disjointed technologies, too many redundant tasks, and too many caregiver distractions are taking away from direct patient care at the bedside. When all of these things get in the way of delivering quality patient care, nurses find themselves looking for other non-bedside related roles where they can use their expertise.

At West-Com, we believe that the technology in your facility should help, not hinder. We’ve worked for decades creating purpose-built communication solutions that seamlessly integrate with mobile devices, EMRs, RTLS, and more. When technology works together, the administrative burden is reduced on the caregiver, and that can directly affect burnout levels.

We’d love to learn more about your facility and show you what a solution tailored for your unique needs could look like. Head on over to the website and request a demo here: https://www.westcomncs.com/request-a-demo/

Monday Meet and Greet: Dave Daum

Dave serves as our newly appointed Vice President of Sales.

About Dave: I started my career in healthcare in 1996, selling OEM hospital communication products to distributors across five states. During my tenure there, I learned to lead teams and how to scale a business, but more importantly that I really loved healthcare! In 2007 I joined West-Com where I have played an active role in sales training, corporate accounts, and managing sales for the Northeast. I'm beyond excited for my next role leading our sales team. I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, which is where I live today with my wife and four children.

Favorite Hobbies: I am an avid baseball card and sports memorabilia collector! I also enjoy spending time outdoors and playing golf.

Dave, congrats on your promotion to VP of Sales! We appreciate all you have done for West-Com over the years, and look forward to all of the good things to come.

Did you know that August is National Wellness Month? This month focuses on self-care, stress management and creating healthy routines. Making sure you take time to pause, take a deep breath, and do something for yourself contributes to your overall health and happiness. And that can help you stay out of the hospital. So if you’re looking for a sign to create a new healthy habit by adding some “me time” into your routine, this is it! What will you do for yourself this month?

Over the last few years we’ve seen emergency departments across the country be pushed to capacity. Outdoor holding areas, patients being seen and treated in hallways, and standard hospital units being converted to overflow areas have become all too common. One thing missing in this scenario is a patient’s access to nurse call.

Well, West-Com has a solution for that. Our Emergency Kit is wireless, sets up within seconds, can be taken down just as quickly, and allows your facility to provide every patient with access to their nurse. Ready to learn more? Click the link to read the brochure! https://www.westcomncs.com/resource/emergency-wireless-call-kit/

Emergency Wireless Call Kit | West-Com Nurse Call Systems West-Com's portable wireless call kit makes emergency preparedness easy. Quickly convert space into a patient care area with a wireless call system.

In February of 2022, IBISWorld reported that the US Market Size for telemedicine would climb to nearly $17 billion. The annualized market growth from 2017-2022 was almost 21%. While both account for services received outside of the hospital setting, the numbers are still staggering, to say the least.

At West-Com, we can help your facility deliver virtual care from physicians and specialists all over the world, right from the patient room. With visitation restrictions ever-changing, an ageing population living at home for longer, and family and friends spread near and far, providing patients with access to virtual care services can change their entire experience. And we know when the patient experience improves, so do patient outcomes. And both of those directly affect your HCAHPS scores.

Are you interested in learning how to modernize your patient and caregiver collaboration experience? Click here https://www.westcomncs.com/resource/patient-cardboard-telehealth/ learn more about our digital PatientCareboards with Telehealth. You can request a demo while you're on the website! (And yes, there’s a virtual demo option too!)

Patient CareBoard with Telehealth & Digital Care Plans | West-Com Nurse Call Systems Discover how digital care plans, telehealth, and virtual care services can revolutionize patient care, care team collaboration, and patient & family engagement.

Did you know that, according to the World Health Organization, investment in patient safety can lead to significant financial savings, in addition to an overall improvement in patient satisfaction? In the United States alone, focused safety improvements led to an estimated $28 billion in savings in Medicare Hospitals. At West-Com, our solutions and integrations are purpose-built with patient safety and satisfaction in mind. From reducing fall risk, improving response times, and reducing errors, our scalable communication platform can directly affect your bottom line (in the best way!). Click here to schedule a demo: https://www.westcomncs.com/request-a-demo/

We talk a lot about family engagement when it comes to patient care in the hospital setting. Research shows that when patients and families are involved in the decision making and goal setting for their care and recovery, patient outcomes increase and readmission rates decrease. If you’re looking for ways to increase patient and family engagement, even in the face of a pandemic, take a look at The Institute for Patient and Family-Centered Care’s best practices guide called “Better Together: Partnering with Families,” on their website, here: https://www.ipfcc.org/bestpractices/better-together.html

Better Together: Partnering with Families "We have concentrated our attention on the risks of visitation and lost sight of the benefits. When we close our facilities to visitors because we fear a few individuals, many are harmed."

Did you know the Joint Commission sets patient safety goals every year? In 2022, Goal #6 was to reduce patient harm associated with clinical alarm systems. In a hospital setting with different alarm types and escalations across multiple patients, caregivers experience alarm fatigue and become desensitized to alarm sounds over time. When alarms malfunction, that also puts patients at serious risk. The Joint Commission recommends steps to reduce the risk of patient harm due to alarm systems. Establishing alarm safety as a priority, identifying the most important alarms, and creating effective policies and procedures around managing those systems are just a few of the ways you can make an impact at your facility. If you’re interested in reading the complete guidance, you can find the Hospital Chapter here:https://lnkd.in/gtaTK6Yr In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about how West-Com can help reduce alarm fatigue, increase patient safety and satisfaction, and decrease sentinel events in your facility, you can request a demo here: https://lnkd.in/gq8EZtZG

We had a great meeting at the HealthTrust University Conference in Nashville this week. Did we miss you? We'd love to connect and learn more about your patient safety and communication initiatives. Let us know in the comments what your facility is focusing on in the back half of 2022!

Did you know that nurses walk nearly 5 miles during every 12-hour shift? That’s almost twice as much as the average population walks in an entire day! At West-Com, we know that every second counts during a shift, and any extra time spent running back and forth can really interrupt the delivery quality patient care. Our MobileCare app can be installed on any iOS or Android device, and allows nurses to answer and prioritize patient calls immediately, right from their mobile phone. The app allows caregivers to answer a two-way voice call, or gives them the option of virtually entering the patient room via West-Com's digital Patient CareBoard. If optimizing your caregiver workflows is a current initiative in your facility, we’d love to chat! Head over to the website and request a demo here: https://www.westcomncs.com/request-a-demo/

West-Com wishes everyone a safe, healthy, and fun Fourth of July!

Did you know that in a study to improve hospital design for children, researchers polled 250 children regarding their opinions on clowns and every single one of them reported disliking or fearing them? Customizing your hospital environment for your patients is crucial for an optimized healthcare experience, and with West-Com you have the opportunity to do exactly that.

With West-Com’s Novus Connect Nurse Call System, you can customize your patient experience utilizing our workflow stations and Patient CareBoards. Go to www.westcomncs.com and request a demo to see how we can help you optimize your patient experience.

What if every technology product your hospital invested in always had a clear path to upgrade? No ripping out and replacing, no total overhauls, and no technology obsolescence. Well, with West-Com, that can be reality!

Did you know that we have never sent out an end-of-life notice for any of our products? Everything we engineer is backwards compatible and sustainable, so healthcare facilities can rest assured, knowing their investment is protected over time. If you’re interested in learning more about West-Com’s technology, visit us here: www.westcomncs.com

It’s our last day at Premier's Breakthroughs! Be sure to stop by booth 1336 to learn how West-Com can help modernize patient care communication and elevate the overall experience for your staff, patients, AND their families. Do you have active initiatives in these areas? We'd love to be part of the conversation! Stop by our booth or visit https://www.westcomncs.com/request-a-demo/ for a demo.

Are you heading to National Harbor this week for Premier Inc.'s annual Breakthroughs conference? If so, be sure to stop by booth 1336 to see how West-Com can help with your patient and caregiver communication needs, and enable your patient safety and caregiver satisfaction initiatives. We look forward to seeing you there!