September 13, 2004—Mountain States Health Alliance, the largest regional health care system in northeast Tennessee, has signed an agreement with Johnson Controls, Inc., the global leader in facility management and control, for the first system-wide installation of a single wireless distribution technology in the health care industry.
The InnerWireless System, an in-building wireless distribution system, will be installed throughout the health care system, including its nine hospitals. This wireless infrastructure provides complete wireless coverage for a variety of voice and data services that are essential to facilitate patient care.
Mountain States Health Alliance plans to use the system to support an electronic clinical documentation system that will allow medical orders, notes and prescriptions to be entered into a patient’s medical record, at the bedside, through handheld devices such as PDAs and tablet PC’s. All the medical professionals participating in the patient’s care then can access that information. In addition the system records and double-checks the administration of medications.
Under the $2.4 million contract with Johnson Controls, installation of the InnerWireless System will begin at the Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tenn., the flagship hospital, this fall and then will be implemented throughout the system over the next 13 months. At Johnson City Medical Center, the wireless system will be installed in the new intensive care unit that will compliment the articulating arm service columns within each room. These columns will hold all patient monitoring equipment and data connections so that a patient’s bed can be moved around the room for treatments, testing or family interaction.
The InnerWireless System is configured to easily support future applications, including wireless LAN, paging, voice-over IP telephone and energy management using existing Johnson Controls Metasys building management systems.
For more information, contact Johnson Controls
