Uniting Communities Choose Integrated Wireless

Integrated Wireless (IW) have been working with Uniting Communities at it's Aldersgate facility in order to increase staff protection and work flows. Uniting Communities came to IW with the following requirements:

• To provide a comprehensive campus-wide duress and cordless phone system with the ability to raise multiple types of alarms (including man-down)

• A handset which will remain consistent across the whole fleet and offers increased durability and robustness

• The system should be capable of providing accurate location throughout the facility

• The system must have the ability to integrate with the existing nurse call, fire panel and gate control systems whereby notifications are immediately broadcast out to appropriate staff members

• The system must provide a comprehensive audit trail of all communications for post incident analysis and reporting

• Measures must be taken to ensure the staff understand and have complete confidence in the duress system and its capabilities

Ascom d81 handset

By deploying 52 of IW's robust d81 duress handsets alongside the latest Ascom basestations to improve coverage and voice quality, IW met the main requirements mentioned above. The Ascom d81 handsets provide staff with an intuitive, easy-to-use device that provides simple messaging, calling and duress solutions. Locational duress alarms can be raised through one of two ways:

-  Push-button duress

-  Man-down alarm (automatic alarm raised when handset tilts over a pre-defined angle)

 Upon a duress alarm being raised at Aldersgate, a message is automatically broadcast out to staff detailing the identity of the unit and its location, while also letting them know which type of alarm was raised. Along with this, staff have the ability to visually identify the location of a duress event on a site map via the alarm management module known as DURAalarm. This allows all LAN based Java enabled computers to view in real time, via text or graphical information, the location of all alarms from the wireless duress handsets.

The management team at Aldersgate wanted their staff to have complete confidence in and understanding of the duress functionality implemented by IW. In order to achieve this, IW introduced DURAtest, a live testing application that allows staff to test their handset's duress functionality at the beginning of every shift. This process increases their familiarity with the duress operation and gives them certainty that an immediate response will be actioned should a problem arise.

Uniting Care- Aldersgate Facility

In addition, IW's solution integrates through to the existing nursecall, fire panel and access control systems at the Aldersgate facility. This allows all nursecall notifications sent within the system to be broadcast out to the appropriate staff member using differentiating tones and following an escalation process should the message not be accepted. Integration through to the fire panel allows mass broadcast out to appropriate staff for rapid response, whilst integrating with access control systems allow defined staff to open doors for visitors.

Finally, IW provided ENSURElog, a software module that permanently stores all communications (alarms, messages, response recordings and phone activity) sent within the system onto a central logging database. All entries are date/time stamped and can be easily accessed by authorised personnel for reporting and auditing purposes, giving management a very powerful OH&S tool to improve response coordination, reduce litigation and potentially highlight a need for staff training.
 

“When Uniting Communities went out to market for a new communication and duress solution, we were not expecting to find a vendor who could meet all of our essential and desired requirements. Integrated Wireless have not only provided our Aldersgate facility with such a solution, they have offered superior support and training after the completion of the project.” 

- Carol McArthur, Group Manager Residential Care Services, Uniting Communities

For more information regarding this case and other IW solutions, click here!

A Christmas Smile at Monash Children's Ward

As 2012 draws to a close, we all start thinking about where we will spend Christmas with our friends and families. Unfortunately, not all children get the opportunity to run a muck in their local neighbourhood.

Integrated Wireless decided to bring Christmas to the kids in the Children's Ward at the Monash Hospital, donating and decorating Christmas trees with children from wards 41 and 42, as well as their own families.

Integrated Wireless Sales Executive Andrew Weiss (left) and Sales and Marketing Director Feargal O'Farrell (right) with their families at Monash Children's Ward last week

"I know the kids and families here at Monash Children's had a great time decorating the trees and they look absolutely fantastic. We really appreciate the generosity and care shown to our patients, staff and families", said Kym Forrect, Monash Children's Director of Nursing.

From everyone here at Integrated Wireless, we wish a very Merry Christmas to these children and hope the trees bring a little Christmas cheer to the ward this year!

Ascom Wireless Solutions Lead the Way

According to the Times Colonist, Ascom Wireless Solutions has claimed growth in global market shares, now sharing the position as the world's largest manufacturer of professional cordless phones with Gigaset.

Ascom VoWiFi & DECT handsets

With over 1,200 employees and subsidiaries in 11 countries world-wide, Ascom have been a major player in both the DECT and VoWiFi cordless phone market for years. Their market share has grown from 15 percent to 17 percent since early 2011, whilst historic leader Gigaset dropped by 1 percent in the same period. These figures take into account the total number of manufactured units globally, including both Ascom branded products and OEM production.

Integrated Wireless (IW) is the sole distributor of Ascom cordless phones in Australia and offer on-the-ground, 24x7 support if required. With deployments in some of the largest Healthcare, Agedcare, Educational, Industrial and Correctional facilities throughout APAC, IW have earned the award as best Ascom International Reseller 5 times and counting.

For product specifications or to speak to one of our representatives, click here!

King Hamad University Hospital uses Ekahau Solution to secure prestigious award

According to Heartland News, King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH) has recently been awarded the “Healthcare Deployment of the Year” award for it's Ekahau Real-Time Asset Tracking solution in the Middle East.

Ekahau, the leader in hospital-grade Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), deployed a solution into KHUH which came under intense scrutiny by Computer News Middle East's pan Arabian panel of experts and came up trumps. Unanimously.

King Hamad University Hospital

The 311-bed KHUH was selected from 40 regional hospitals and acknowledged as one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the Middle East. It uses Ekahau's asset tags and state-of-the-art PDA's to locate assets to within room level accuracy throughout the 66,000m² facility. This enables complete visibility wherever the Wireless LAN network is installed, allowing staff to spend time with patients rather than searching for wheelchairs and IV pumps.

Integrated Wireless (IW) partner with Ekahau to distribute these solutions Australia-wide. From pre-sales advice through to system maintenance, IW offer 24x7 on-the-ground support to some of Australia's largest hospitals and aged care facilities.

For a free on-site demonstration of our solutions, click here!

Four-Week-Old Infant Abducted in Sydney

Once again, it becomes clear that we cannot leave the safety of our newborn children to chance. Systems need to be put in place to protect these infants who cannot protect themselves.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 year-old Justin Groves walked from the Royal Hospital for Women at11.40am on Monday with his four-week-old baby son in his arms. Both parents attended the clinic together that morning, with Mr. Groves absconding on foot with no access to a vehicle or baby supplies.

Police were alerted shortly after and the hunt began with grave fears for the child's safety. The public were notified of Mr Groves appearance and told to keep an eye out for a tattooed man wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt. This proved successful, with the man taken into custody later that day in Parramatta.

A happy ending to what could have been a tragic scenario. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Infant Protection Tag

Luckily there is a solution. Integrated Wireless (IW) provide Infant Protection Systems that are put in place to avoid such harrowing scenarios. Tamper-proof baby tags are worn by the infant, triggering an alarm when passing one of many security grade RFID receivers distributed throughout the ward at every door. This alarm is sent to appropriate personnel to deal with the situation at hand.

IW deploy these systems in large-scale maternity wards APAC wide. For more information including pricing and product specifications, click here!

 

Hospital Safety and Security

Australian hospitals are subject to volatile and often dangerous situations. Stakeholders can be put at risk on a daily basis by individuals on and off-site, as well as by factors beyond their control. Whether it be a mental health patient abusing a nurse, a child being abducted or a natural disaster, measures need to be taken to minimize risk where possible.

The appearance of Integrated Wireless (IW) as the sole Duress and Messaging provider at the recent 5^th Annual Hospital & Healthcare Security & Safety Conference on the Gold Coast proves a commitment to work with all facilities interested in protecting stakeholders on site.

Issues addressed surrounded the prevention of aggression in Emergency Departments, change management, as well as emergency and security planning for major events. Shaun Evans, Security Operations Manager of Canterbury District Health Board, cast our minds back to the horrific earthquakes that rocked Christchurch 18 months ago. His knowledge and advice around security response coordination was priceless and well received by the audience.

IW specialise in duress and integrated communication solutions to minimise the daily risks associated with running a hospital. Our mobile handsets can support voice, messaging and duress in the one device, and all 3^rd party systems (fire alarms, access control, etc.) can integrate via IW's unique software applications.

In addition, Infant Protection Systems and Wandering Resident Solutions are offered to help your facility build and retain a reputation as a safe-haven for loved ones.

To research pricing and arrange a free on-site demonstration, click here!
 

A Big Year for Ekahau

Ekahau, an industry leading WiFi based Real Time Location System (RTLS) provider in the USA, has three (3) major reasons to celebrate 2012 (Ekahau press release, September 25^th, 2012):

1. It recently announced a 50% increase in sales in the first half of 2012. The majority of growth came from the healthcare sector where it enjoys the reputation of a solid performance leader and innovator in helping hospitals improve efficiencies, patient safety, and work-flows.
2. It received nearly $10 million in additional growth funding throughout the year in order to accelerate product development and bolster sales and customer care teams. This funding was led by Nexit Ventures with participation from several new and existing investors in the company.
3. The company announced the appointment of Mark D. Norris as the new President and CEO of Ekahau. Norris has previously served Ekahau as COO and CFO, with 20 years of strategic-leadership experience. “Mark brings a fresh vision to Ekahau and has already set new standards for the company in regards to energy, focus and leadership”- Michel Wendell- Chairman of Ekahau.
    
   
   

Integrated Wireless (IW) is the leading Australian distributor of Ekahau solutions, with deployments in some of the nation's busiest hospitals and aged care facilities. IW employ 60+ people throughout the country and carry over 20 years experience in the provision and maintenance of integrated wireless solutions.

For brochures and pricing on IW's products and services- click here!

Wandering Patient Found 200km From Home

According to a report published in March 2012 by the Australian Bureua of Statistics (ABS), deaths due to dementia have more than doubled in the last 10 years and is now the third leading cause of death in Australia. The toll taken on staff and families from wandering patients is immeasurable; independent of resulting fatalities.

Last Sunday 23^rd September, a man reliant on a walking frame was found nearly 200km from his Hobart nursing home (The Sunday Morning Herald). He suffers severe dementia and cannot tell police how he ended up wandering a South Launceston street in slippers in the rain.

The initial search was intensified as Police realised the man had missed his scheduled dose of insulin and was at risk of collapsing. When he was eventually noticed and tendered to by onlookers, Police were notified and according to Inspector Riley, “he didn't know where he was and he didn't know how he got there.”

A bus ticket was found in his pockets and relatives told police he had lived in Launceston 20 years ago, which may have been the catalyst for his actions. He was taken to Launceston General Hospital before being transported back to Hobart.

As dementia cases grow, so to will the number of missing residents and fatalities. Luckily there is a solution...

Integrated Wireless (IW) provide Wandering Resident solutions to help prevent the heart-ache associated with dementia. It's simple, affordable and effective. A patient band is attached to the resident who can roam freely around the facility. If this resident tries to abscond, dedicated RFID receivers placed on every door pick up the signal from the wrist band and generate an alarm. Staff and/or security can act immediately and the crises can be avoided. These bands contain tamper-proof technology, alerting necessary personnel if removed.

For more information regarding our Wandering Resident solutions, click here!

Infant Narrowly Avoids Abduction in New Zealand

According to The Telegraph, Neha Narayan, 24, has recently pleaded guilty to the High Court for kidnapping a baby from Auckland's Middlemore Hospital in January this year.

Narayan allegedly faked a pregnancy and asked her partner to drop her off at the hospital as she was in labour. She spent the following 3-4 hours roaming the maternity ward, arousing suspicion from staff on duty who alerted the police.

Narayan managed to snatch a baby and make it to the car-park where she was apprehended.

There are numerous stories similar to this and the effect on all involved – family and staff – are harrowing. Had staff been less wary or Narayan less suspicious, the result of this incident could have been much more severe.

Integrated Wireless (IW) understand these issues and provide Infant Protection Systems to several maternity hospitals. A dedicated security grade array of RFID receivers are distributed through the ward at every door. The tags worn by the babies generate an alarm when they come in proximity of the doors and notification is sent to appropriate personnel for immediate action . Inbuilt tamper detection ensures that tags cannot be easily removed or hidden from the system.

For more information surrounding Infant Protection solutions, click here!

Ascom Sign Retail Giant

This month Ascom have signed a significant 5-year deal to refresh the wireless telephone fleet of one of the UK's largest retailers in a deal that extended the mutual 20 year relationship.

Ascom understands retailers are under constant pressure to provide outstanding customer service and minimise business costs. With pressures being placed on ways to improve responsiveness and provide greater levels of efficiency, Ascom have helped by enabling Floor Managers, Department Managers and Floor Runners to be easily contacted whilst on the move.

The strategy includes upgrading to VoWiFi in the large stores with the Ascom i62 WiFi handset and the refreshing of the in situ DECT handsets at the remaining stores with the Ascom d81 handsets.

i62/d81

 The Ascom i62 phone was the first to handle 802.11 a/b/g and n. This handset supports voice over the WiFi network without degrading the performance of an existing .11n network capacity.

The Ascom d81 phone is Ascom's most robust handset yet. It can be used in the most rugged environments over a DECT network and features advanced functions such as a man-down and no-movement alarm.

Integrated Wireless are the sole distributors of Ascom products throughout APAC, providing 24x7 support to some of Australia's busiest hospitals, aged care facilities, retailers, educational institutions, corrective facilities and industrial giants.

 
For product and pricing information, click here!

BOC Requirements Met

Integrated Wireless (IW) have been working with BOC sites Australia-wide for many years to reduce risks associated with those employees working alone. BOC came to IW looking for:

• A solution to provide lone workers with the ability to raise duress and man-down alarms from remote locations
• Alarms to be sent to a central location and regular messages sent to the worker 
• An automatic alarm to be raised should be employee not respond to a message 
• The solution to be Intrinsically Safe (IS) and certified to Australian Standards
• The ability to control the security gates remotely during any emergency situation 

By Integrating Ascom’s specialised 9d23 Intrinsically Safe Protector handsets and DURAsuite alarm management application with the existing PLC system (Programmable Logic Controller), Integrated Wireless delivered a solution that enabled BOC’s lone workers to be “supervised” from a central location while at remote facilities.

The existing PLC system was configured so that when a lone worker arrived at a remote facility the PLC would instruct the DURAsuite alarm management system to automatically generate messages at pre-defined time intervals and send them to the lone workers phone. If the lone worker fails to respond to a message the DURAsuite alarm management system notifies the PLC system of this and an alarm is instantaneously transmitted to a central monitoring station which then initiates a process to check on the status of the lone worker. Similarly if a “duress” or “man-down” alarm is raised from the phone by the lone worker, the central monitoring station is informed via the PLC system. 

  

 In addition the lone worker can control the opening and closing of the access gates from their 9d23 Protector phone from anywhere on the facility. As the phones are connected to the on-site telephone system (PBX), the lone workers have full telephone communications capability while on site. The Ascom 9d23 Intrinsically Safe Protector handset is compliant with the global IECEx standard for Intrinsic Safety, which is in turn compliant with the Australian standards.

"Integrated Wireless (IW) have been long-time suppliers of our man-down alarm solutions. They have continually met business requirements and are prevalent in more than 20 BOC sites Australia-wide. IW's solutions provide our employees with the confidence to complete tasks successfully while reducing business costs."

- Don Anson, Superintendent, BOC Cryocentre Facility

For more information regarding our lone-worker alarm solutions, click here!

Correctional Services Healthcare Summit

According to the American Correctional Officer Intelligence Network, correctional officers (CO's) in the US have the second highest mortality rate of any occupation. 33% of violence in prisons is directed towards CO's resulting in high stress and anxiety levels.

The recent appearance of Integrated Wireless (IW) at the 3^rd Annual Correctional Services Healthcare Summit in Melbourne demonstrated the company's commitment to reducing the figures mentioned above.

The main theme revolved around primary healthcare in correctional facilities with impressive speakers from across the nation and abroad. Particularly interesting were presentations from SA Prison Health Service and GEO Care with supporting case studies.

Through various discussions over the two-day event, a lack of duress functionality in many facilities across Australia became apparent.

Integrated Wireless specialise in duress alarm management in a bid to decrease avoidable injury and death in corrective environments. IW's solutions are deployed in some of the nation's busiest facilities throughout the APAC region with 24x7 support should the need arise.

To read more about Integrated Wireless and the solutions provided, click here!

Woman Attempts to Steal Newborn Baby

According to a report by International Social Services, Australia has the highest per capita rate of international infant abductions in the world. Add to that those newborn babies switched at birth and the numbers begin to stack up.

Grisel Ramirez, 48, recently impersonated a nurse in a Californian hospital in an attempt to abduct a newborn baby. Ramirez, dressed in medical scrubs, entered the mother's room and told her to take a shower while she watched the baby. The mother complied and seconds later Ramirez left the room with the baby in a tote bag.

Luckily, the baby was wearing a Secure Care infant protection tag, alerting staff when it passed the doorway. Ramirez was immediately detained and is being held without bail.

Integrated Wireless are the Australian distributors of Secure Care products and have deployments in some of Australia's busiest hospitals. The Infant Protection System (IPS) prevents both theft and mistaken identity of newborn babies using WiFi baby tags attached to the ankle. This tag triggers an alarm when tampered with or when crossing a virtual WiFi boundary.

For pricing and information on infant protection solutions, click here!

New South Wales Nurses Association

The appearance of Integrated Wireless (IW) at the recent 67^th Annual New South Wales Nurses Association (NSWNA) conference cemented the company's commitment to protecting hospital staff in often unstable environments. As the sole duress provider present, IW's dominance in this niche market was evident.

With the theme 'Taking the lead: Organising for safe patient care', this conference focused on staffing and patient care issues now and in the future. Our IW representatives were particularly impressed by Dr Di Twigg from Edith Cowan University who had some very interesting points around the need for change to ensure quality patient care. International perspectives from both Tonga and Ireland were addressed with fascinating comparisons to Australian nursing.

Luckily, many of the 'safe patient care' issues faced above can be solved with a complete emergency duress solution. 

 

This event gave IW the opportunity to speak with many existing clients to gain a greater understanding of their needs. Although VoWiFi and infant protection systems were discussed, the real interest revolved around leveraging IW duress solutions with an existing IP-PBX and integrating with nurse-call systems and fire panels.

Thank you to everyone who stopped to talk and we hope you enjoy one of many IW mugs and drink bottles given away!

For information on duress solutions and how they may assist your facility, click here!

Elderly Citizens Take The Fall

As the population ages, dementia cases are set to double by 2030 and triple by 2050. This will add pressure placed on aged care facilities and increase risk to elderly citizens who are unable to care for themselves.

Joan Ambrose, 79, suffered dementia and became disorientated in a Melbourne nursing home on the afternoon of February 7, 2009. It was 46 degrees and Mrs Ambrose walked to an outside courtyard to discover the door locked behind her. She tried and failed to gain the attention of 2 on-duty staff for more than three hours before her body was found dead at 4pm.

In response, Coroner Peter White urged the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency to demand that aged care facilities strictly control their entry/exit points as part of their extreme heat emergency management plans.

Patient Wristband

Part of the solution is a wandering resident monitoring system. Elderly citizens wear a wristband and a 'virtual boundary' is placed around specific areas of a facility. This 'geo-fencing' technique identifies when a person moves beyond a pre-defined area and sends an alarm to management and/or security. With the right advice, it is easy to install and manage. At Integrated Wireless, it is just one of many products we offer to help protect families.

 For more information on wandering resident solutions, click here!

ED Management

The appearance of Integrated Wireless (IW) at the 4^th Annual Emergency Department Management conference in July demonstrated the company's commitment to and understanding of the issues surrounding smoother work flows in ED environments.

This conference addressed issues relating to improved patient flows, ambulatory care, supporting IT systems and re-design, business planning in the ED and strengthening models of care. It was a great experience listening to many interesting speakers from Box Hill Hospital, Jundaloop Health Campus and Princess Alexandra Hospital, to name a few.

The good news is that many of the challenges mentioned above can be solved through integrating next generation nurse-call and duress solutions with existing facility infrastructure.

For IW, the opportunity to touch base with existing clients from hospitals Australia-wide was an added bonus and gave us the opportunity to greater understand our customers and their needs.

IW representatives in action

 

Thank you to all those who took the time to chat with us at the conference. We look forward to strengthening existing client relationships, and forging new ones, in the future.

Those interested in solutions to many of the challenges discussed, click here!

Product Release- ENSUREtelpage

It is critical in a hospital environment that nurses produce more in less time without error. They are pushed to the limit with multi-tasking a part of everyday life. The question is- how can we reduce the stress and pressures placed upon these staff?

Integrated Wireless(IW) understand this and the solution is to streamline communications. In fact, IW have a team of dedicated staff focused on the development of software and hardware systems designed to do just that.

ENSUREtelpage is the most recent development to compliment existing software modules run through DURAsuite- IW's alarm management system. This telephone paging application will page specific personnel through pre-defined numbers and messages. It operates through ordinary telephone lines and alarms can be raised with the push of a button, allowing for improved work flows.

For more information on this and other solutions designed to increase hospital efficiencies, click here!

Paramedics Cry for Help Falls on Deaf Ears

Paramedics are the unsung heroes of our communities who spend their lives helping those in need. Unfortunately, they are often called to very confronting situations where alcohol and drugs are involved. This can result in unreasonable aggression and attacks on paramedics- as was recently the case with Ambulance Tasmania.

In early July 2012 two ambulance officers were called to a scene in the South of Tasmania, where bystanders began verbally abusing officers and smashing ambulance windows. The officers took refuge in their vehicle and hit the duress alarm, but no-one came. Why? The alarm system failed and the message was never received by the communications centre.

Tasmanian health union member Tim Jacobson said, "in this particular case it's [duress system] fallen over, it's fallen over previously and obviously Ambulance Tasmania needs to ensure that the system is stable”. According to Jacobson, ambulance officers are reporting incidents weekly.

As a duress provider, Integrated Wireless (IW) offer a complete range of duress alarm solutions, including wide-area duress. This particular solution uses GPS satellite coordinates to attain location and the device enables voice communications. All data is time and date stamped for post-incident reporting.

IW's Teltonika- wide-area duress solution

For more information and to speak to one of our sales representatives across Australia, click here!

Ekahau Release New L4 WiFi Tag

International Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) provider Ekahau have recently released the L4 WiFi computer tag, designed to prevent laptop loss and theft.

Business critical and sensitive information is often stored on laptops. Whether it's patient healthcare information or news regarding government entities, vital information can be lost and it happens more regularly than you think.

This new L4 tag fits into the ExpressCard slot of the laptop and contains a built in rechargeable battery which runs for weeks even when the laptop is tuned off. When the laptop is on, the battery is charged to full capacity.

The L4 tag comes equip with a motion sensor and tamper proofing, sending an alarm to appropriate stakeholders when the tag is removed from the device.

As this tag uses any existing WiFi network to operate and track the device when it leaves predefined boundaries, no additional infrastructure is required keeping costs to a minimum.

For product pricing and specifications, contact us!

Ascom Acquire GE Healthcare's Nurse Call Division

Ascom, a leading provider of mission-critical communications worldwide, has broadened it's empire through acquiring GE Healthcare's Nurse Call business in June of this year.

GE Healthcare is a leading nurse call supplier in North America with revenues in excess of USD 20 million in 2011. This acquisition gives Ascom the opportunity to penetrate the lucrative North American market as well as gain intellectual property through retaining existing GE employees. As a result, a combined offering can be created with features and functionality more closely aligned to customer needs.

Fritz Mumenthaler, CEO of Ascom, says: “Ascom is very pleased to have acquired a business with such a good strategic fit. This transaction represents the next step in building and strengthening the leading position of our Wireless Solutions Division in the healthcare communications market”.

For a full range of Ascom products distributed throughout Australia, click here.

Mental Health- Challenges and Solutions

Integrated Wireless (IW) legitimised itself as the top duress provider throughout Australia at the recent 3^rd Annual Mental Health Units (MHU) Conference at the Sydney Harbour Marriott in June.

This conference focused on achieving best practice in MHUs and challenges faced in this environment- such as risk management, nursing recruitment and retention, reducing restraint and safety of women in inpatient settings.

IW were the only emergency wireless vendor present at this conference, highlighting our passion and dominance in this market. Many of the challenges mentioned above can be solved through a complete emergency duress solution increasing both perceived and actual safety for nursing staff. 

This event was highly successful and gave IW the opportunity to touch base with several existing clients from hospitals such as Hornsby, Manly, St George, Shell Harbour, Burwood and Southern Health. This proved very worthwhile to not only re-assure customers of our presence, but to hold discussions regarding future solutions for their particular facility.

Thank you to all those who took the time to stop and chat and we look forward to further developing our relationship over the coming years.

Those interested in the solutions deployed through the above hospitals, click here!

Prison Officers At Risk

It is no secret that prison officers operate in dangerous environments and are placed in life-threatening situations in the blink of an eye. It is also no secret that not enough is done to protect these officers.

In January 2012, Fulham Prison was the site of a riot involving prisoners armed with gym equipment, iron bars and other tools. In 2011, Risdon Prison in Tasmania fell victim to similar circumstances. Unfortunately these situations continue to arise and prison officers must be protected. In fact, it can often take a crucible event such as this for management to take note of and act on security measures.

Integrated Wireless provide alarm management solutions where duress alarms can be raised one of four ways:

1. Push-button
2. No-movement
3. Man-down
4. Pull-cord

Our solutions will also monitor the time taken by staff members to travel between location points on a pre-defined route to indicate whether a staff member's routine has been interrupted. The result of said situations will be time and date stamped for post-incident reporting.

For those interested in preventative management and staff protection solutions, click here!

Nurses Fear for Safety

In December 2011, mentally ill 12-18 year olds were due to move from Footscray into a new psychiatric ward as part of a $1 billion facility upgrade at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), Melbourne.

Shortly before the move the nursing staff concluded the ward to be unsafe and felt they could and would not work in a potentially dangerous environment. An article by The Age states, “They [nurses] claim security staff has been halved and personal panic alarms do not work, potentially putting nurses at risk when trying to restrain violent adolescents”.

The 16-bed Banksia ward was designed under the “least restrictive environment” approach, as specified by the Victorian Mental Health Act, taking away lock-up enclosures to avoid imitating a prison. As patients saw this as a positive, nurses immediately saw the potential danger associated with the plan and demanded a safe working environment with active duress alarms before moving into the ward.

Integrated Wireless (IW) were given the opportunity to showcase to RCH our unique offering currently in place at Dandenong Hospital. Based on the success reached there and throughout many sites Australia-wide, RCH awarded IW the business. After putting in place an Ekahau RTLS tracking system with to-the-second updates and Ascom i62 handheld devices with duress functionality, the nursing staff felt at ease and the move was complete early 2012.

The Royal Children's Hospital now have over 600 i62 handsets throughout the hospital and our ongoing support should any problems arise.

Click here for a complete list of products and services.

Student Security

Integrated Wireless (IW) attended the 4^th Annual Campus and Student Security Conference late May which provided a great opportunity to network with security representatives and general management from the education sector throughout APAC.

Student security is a growing concern throughout Australia, particularly in multi-building campus environments where facilities can often spread over streets and in some cases whole suburbs. Many universities, for example, comprise of multiple campuses that can be well over an hour from one another. The question remains- how can management successfully communicate to a wide audience both on and off campus in an emergency situation?

This question was posed multiple times throughout the conference and is a problem faced by many. IW specialise in mass-communications to better communicate with stakeholders in lock-down and evacuation situations. We understand the need to not only deal with the situation at hand, but log every detail for post-incident reporting. We also understand budgetary contraints and therefore integrate with existing infrastructure and 3^rd party systems (fire panels, EWIS systems, etc.) rather than force an unnecessary replacement of investments.

With successful deployments Australia-wide and knowledge from challenges overcome to date, IW were able to discuss in depth solutions to suit potential client requirements and have been given the opportunity for further review in coming weeks.

Click here for more information and contact details.

Mingling in May

Integrated Wireless established itself as one of the top providers of mission-critical solutions at the recent 7^th International Conference on Rapid Response Systems and Medical Emergency Teams showcased at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in May.

This was the first time the conference had been held in Australia and drew healthcare experts from all over the world. We were able to demonstrate our ability to promptly deal with emergency duress situations, as well as optimise patient flows through innovative nurse-call systems and asset/patient/staff tracking solutions.

A big thank you to all who attended and listened to our ranting over the 3 day event. We hope to work closely with you at some point in the future to provide a safer and more efficient workplace.

For more information on the above solutions, click here!

Big Brother is Watching...

The TV Show Big Brother (Sweden) uses Ekahau Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) to track contestants around the house, increasing viewing pleasure with the audience able to see all contestant locations to within a few feet through the use of the Ekahau T301W (now A1) tag- as seen below.

This tracking system leverages off the Wi-Fi network using the Ekahau RTLS Controller location engine/tag management server and requires no additional infrastructure.

If you can manage to navigate your way around the Big Brother Sweden website you can see the Ekahau RTLS tracking system live and in full swing (screenshot below). 

Integrated Wireless partner with U.S based company Ekahau in order to deliver accurate Wi-Fi tracking solutions in multiple industries throughout Australia- including healthcare, aged care, education, industrial and correctional.

For more information including specifications and pricing, click here!

Dementia Cases to Double

As the population ages, related diseases are expected to rise. However, the World Health Organisation have exceeded expectations, proposing the number of people with dementia will almost double to 65.7 million by 2030, and triple by 2050. 

An article by Yahoo! Health quoted the head of the mental health department of WHO, Shekhar Saxena, as stating, “the risk of dementia is 1 in 8 for those over 65 and a shocking 1 in 2.5 for those over 85 -- its impact will become greater as the decades go by...”.

Another figurehead at WHO believes a lot can be done to decrease the burden of dementia and emphasises the need to allocate funds to provide necessary health and social care.

Aged-care facilities must dedicate time and money to mitigating associated risks by putting in place measures preventing dementia patients from wandering off site.

For dementia care solutions, contact us for information and advice!

ITAC- 21st and 22nd April

Integrated Wireless demonstrated our cutting edge wireless technology solutions at the recent Information Technology in Aged Care (ITAC) Conference held at the Melbourne Park Function Centre in April.

The conference attracted experts from all over the country informing them of recent IT advances and their practicalities in the aged care sector. It was good to see a few familiar faces in the crowd!

This event provided an excellent opportunity to show influencers and decision makers in this space how we can increase productivities and efficiencies in their workplace, particularly in regards to WiFi and wandering resident solutions.

For more information, click here.