Benefits of Dalcon Alert

Patient Fall Prevention

While fall risk awareness and fall-prevention training is necessary, nurses can only prevent a fall if they know when the patient is beginning to move in a high-risk manner. For example, a patient is...

Beginning to get out of bed
Beginning to get out of a chair
In urgent need to use the bathroom

Standard nurse call systems and bed fall alert beeper systems often do not accomplish the task of communicating these specific situations to the responsible caregivers in a position to help.

When a fall risk patient attempts to get out of a bed or chair and trips an alarm, staff members are immediately notified of the patient's exact location with a text message. Knowing the precise location of the fall alarm allows staff to rapidly respond to prevent a fall.

Voice Announcements

The Dalcon Alert Remote Alert Monitor (RAM) also makes voice announcements, which have proven effective in gaining additional time to respond. When patients set off a fall alarm, the RAM tells them “please sit back down, help is coming” (or any other custom recorded message from a family member or nurse).

How Dalcon Alert Can Help Prevent Falls

Fall prevention monitoring devices are plugged into the Remote Alert Monitor (RAM). Such devices include but are not limited to:

Bed alarm systems
Bed exit pads
Bed exit tether cords

When a fall-risk patient sets off an alarm from a fall prevention device plugged into the RAM, the RAM immediately begins playing a vocal announcement telling the patient to please sit back down. This can be a system message, or a custom message recorded by a family member of the patient.

Next the RAM wirelessly sends an alert to the DCM communications server. The DCM server logs the alert into a database, and then simultaneously pushes out a notification to the Alarm Management Software and caregiver’s wireless devices.

The Alarm Management Software display at the nursing station shows information about the active fall alerts in the Dalcon Alert system. Caregivers receive text message notifications directly on their wireless devices displaying the fall alert and location.

To learn more about Dalcon Alert, and how it can limit the incidence of “Never Events,” please call 877.938.6439.

Remote IV Pump Monitoring

Because caregivers cannot be everywhere at once, the continual beep of an IV Pump alarm is one of the top complaints of hospital patients nationwide. However, Dalcon Alert has an integrated solution that vastly increases staff productivity and patient satisfaction, Remote IV Pump Monitoring.

How It Works

The IV pump is connected directly to the Remote Alert Monitor (RAM). When the IV pump generates an alarm, the RAM receives and identifies the alarm as specific to the IV pump.The RAM then wirelessly sends an alert to the Dalcon Communications Manager (DCM) server. The DCM server logs the alert into a database, and then simultaneously pushes out a notification to Alarm Management Software and caregivers' wireless devices.

The Alarm Management Software display at the nursing station shows information about all the active notifications in the Dalcon Alert system. Caregivers receive text message notifications directly on their wireless devices displaying the notification type and location.

Dalcon Alert can be programmed to send a text message to the sole caregiver responsible for overseeing the patient, or to any number of caregivers—all those on the same floor for example—so that the nearest staff member can quickly attend to the IV Pump.

To learn more about Dalcon’s Remote IV Pump Monitoring, call 877.938.6439.

Preventing Pressure Ulcers with Dalcon Alert

Preventing pressure ulcers is a difficult process that requires constant staff focus. The most effective technique caregivers use to prevent and treat pressure ulcers is to relieve pressure by frequently turning the position of high-risk patients.

Without an automated system of reminders, it is easy for caregivers, operating on multiple shifts, to accidentally overlook the “turning” process, which so successfully prevents pressure ulcers. Dalcon Alert’s pressure ulcer management system is designed to automatically track and schedule patient turning.

How the Dalcon Alert Pressure Ulcer Management System Works

First, the Pressure Ulcer Management System is activated on the Dalcon Alert Remote Alert Monitor (RAM). Once activated, the RAM automatically generates “patient turn” alerts at a set interval as dictated by facility administration.

The RAM then wirelessly sends the reminder alert to the Dalcon Communications Manager (DCM) server.The DCM server logs the alert into a database, and then simultaneously pushes out a notification to the Alarm Management Software.The DCM Server then sends the “patient turn” notification to the appropriate caregiver’s wireless device.

After a caregiver attends to turning the patient, he/she presses the “reset” button on the RAM. Then “patient turn” timer again begins counting down to the next turn time, and the current alert is removed from the Alarm Management software system.

When Dalcon Alert’s Pressure Ulcer Management System is used to help nurses turn patients on a regular basis, the occurrence of dangerous pressure ulcers in at risk patients can be significantly reduced.

To learn more about Dalcon Alert‘s Pressure Ulcer Management System, and how it can limit the incidence of pressure ulcers, please call 877.938.6439.

Bed Status

In today’s hectic hospital environment, the demand for inpatient beds frequently exceeds the hospital’s apparent bed supply. We call the bed supply “apparent” because hospitals often have available, unoccupied beds that remain unused.

Dalcon has recognized this need and integrated a bed management solution into our Dalcon Alert product line. Dalcon Alert’s “Bed Status” feature allows staff to monitor every bed’s status in real time.

How Dalcon Alert Bed Status Works

Located on the face of the Remote Alert Monitor (RAM) is a bed status button. Staff can easily change the status of the bed to three different settings to indicate bed condition:

Occupied: Indicates that the bed is currently in use by a patient.
Out of Service: Indicates the room needs to be cleaned and prepared for next use.
Available: Indicates that a bed is ready to receive a patient.

Dalcon Alert automatically updates the display at the nursing station to reflect the realtime bed status. When the room is available for cleaning, the housekeeping staff is notified with a text message to their wireless phones.

Simultaneously, bed status is updated at the admissions desk to help maximize patient flow. As a result, staff is always aware of the status of each bed in the hospital. Because Dalcon Alert helps ensure better patient flow from admissions to patient rooms, bed turnover time is drastically reduced.

Remote Patient Monitoring

Remote Patient Monitoring allows for healthcare caregivers to constantly stay connected with patients, regardless of their location within the hospital. If blood pressure, heart rate, or other vitals veer above or below set parameters, an alert message is sent to a pre-assigned caregiver’s Wireless Telephone so prioritization and appropriate action can be taken.

Healthcare organizations are often challenged with a multitude of systems creating alarm conditions that are essentially “islands of information.” Lack of integrated and efficient communication typically results in major gaps in the flow of critical information. Dalcon Alert bridges these disparate systems to provide seamless communication and event-driven connectivity, particularly at the point-of-care.

Benefits of Dalcon’s Remote Patient Monitoring

Receive immediate patient data notifications and deliver care in a matter of seconds rather than minutes
Distribute vital patient data to multiple care givers in and OUT of the hospital
Address JCAHO Goal #16

In accordance with the JCAHO 2009 National Patient Safety Goals, the implementation of the Dalcon Remote Patient Monitoring solution positions the community hospital to more successfully achieve the following goals:

Goal #16 – Improve Recognition and Response to Changes in a Patient’s Condition

NPSG.16.01.01 – The [organization] selects a suitable method that enables health care staff members to directly request additional assistance from a specially trained individual(s) when the [patient]’s condition appears to be worsening. (Elements 2 & 5)