February 27, 2008 - More than 200 patient rooms at Sharp Grossmont Hospital are wired to an on-demand communication and television service known as Skylight ACCESS that provides patients access to hospital services and entertainment at the touch of a button.
“The new system encourages patients and their families to take part in care," said Michele Tarbet, CEO of Sharp Grossmont Hospital. “It also improves communication between staff and patients, and allows our nurses to greatly enhance productivity and spend more time on what they do best – provide superior clinical care.”
Skylight ACCESS Interactive Patient System is a two-way communication tool that reportedly gives patients immediate access to hospital and clinical information; patient rights and safety guidelines; educational resources; hospital services and entertainment. Patients navigate ACCESS using a pillow speaker control or a wireless keyboard. The hospital launched the service in 2005 in a limited number of patient rooms with limited services.
Sharp Grossmont Hospital implemented fundamental tools, such as Service Alerts and a Feedback Center, to streamline patient care processes, improve organizational efficiencies and enhance patient experiences. Service Alerts allow patients to send automatic requests directly to key members of the hospital team.
The ACCESS Feedback Center gives patients the ability to comment in real-time. Patients can answer questions from seven key areas of focus about their overall experience. When the questions are submitted, an alert is sent to staff members allowing staff to quickly address the situation, if needed.
Sharp Grossmont Hospital is the largest not-for-profit, full-service acute care hospital in San Diego’s East County and is part of Sharp HealthCare, which recently received the 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for quality and organizational performance excellence.
For more information: www.skylight.com.