December 16, 2009 08:00 ET

Samarinda Aged Services Improves Its Operations and Resident Care Using AeroScout Safety and Asset Tracking Solutions

Samarinda's Aged Care Facility Leverages Its Wi-Fi Network to Locate Assets and Residents and to Provide Staff With Alerts When Residents Need Assistance

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - December 16, 2009) - AeroScout, the leading provider of Unified Asset Visibility for the healthcare industry, today announced that Samarinda Aged Services in Ashburton, Australia, has implemented AeroScout's Resident Safety and Asset Tracking and Management solutions at its Samarinda Lodge. AeroScout's Wi-Fi RTLS (real time location system) enables aged care residents to use call buttons to request assistance when needed, and staff to quickly locate residents anywhere on the property. Samarinda also uses the AeroScout solutions to track and manage equipment that is used to deliver care. As a result of the implementation, Samarinda Lodge has:

--  Improved resident satisfaction and safety;
--  Reduced the frequency of resident falls;
--  Improved operational efficiency;
--  Expedited staff response times and provided better documentation of
    response time; and
--  Increased staff retention rates to 25% above the industry average.
    

Located in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, Samarinda Aged Services is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that provides a range of services for the aged. Samarinda Lodge is its award-winning aged care facility which is one of Australia's top assisted living homes and the winner of several prestigious honors, including Australia's Minister of Aging 2009 Award for Excellence in Aged Care for Innovation in Technology, the Aged Care Facility of the Year by the Aged Care Association of Australia, and the Information Technology in Aged Care Implementation of the Year award. Samarinda Lodge's mission is to enhance the quality of life of the aged by providing excellent care and respecting each person's dignity and individuality.

With limited resources throughout the aged care industry, solutions are needed to streamline operations and allow staff more time to focus on resident care. This is important for resident safety and satisfaction, as well as for staff satisfaction, which improves when caregivers have the tools they need to do their job well. Samarinda is a leader in applying advanced technologies to improve care, satisfaction and efficiency.

Tanya Gilchrist, CEO of Samarinda Lodge, recognized the opportunity to leverage Samarinda's existing Cisco Unified Wireless Network to add RTLS to automate processes. Samarinda Lodge uses AeroScout's Resident Safety and AeroScout's Asset Tracking and Management solutions, both of which consist of AeroScout MobileView software and Wi-Fi RFID Tags. For asset tracking, Samarinda Lodge attached Wi-Fi Tags to shower trolleys, lifting equipment and wheelchairs. AeroScout's MobileView allows staff to quickly search for and locate equipment when needed, leading to improved response times and staff productivity.

In addition, each resident is given an AeroScout Wi-Fi Tag with a call button. If residents need assistance, they press the call button to notify staff automatically. Nurses respond directly via a portable voice device, ensuring residents know that help is on the way. Residents can also have a tag with them at all times and feel comfortable that they can reach a nurse from anywhere on the property, including while walking outside.

"We're extremely proud of the freedom and sense of security the AeroScout solutions have given our residents. With a Wi-Fi network that reaches around the block, residents are free to walk outdoors and still request help if necessary," stated Ms. Gilchrist. "In turn, we've seen this technology positively affect our staff on a day-to-day basis. Nurses can quickly monitor each patient's activity and communicate with them seamlessly. Fostering such a positive work environment has allowed us to attain a staff retention rate significantly higher than the industry average."

Using AeroScout, Samarinda empowers staff to deliver more care hours. The result has been a higher satisfaction level among employees since they are accomplishing their goals and keeping residents safe and comforted. In addition, responding faster to resident needs and requests leads to fewer falls -- if residents are confident that they will be helped in a timely manner, they are less likely to attempt to get up from bed or their chair when they shouldn't.

"Samarinda's deep commitment to providing the best care and the highest level of safety for its residents, even in the face of ever-tightening budgets, is clearly shown in this implementation," said Gabi Daniely, Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy at AeroScout. "Samarinda is a leader in the aged care industry in the use of technology, and that has improved resident care, safety and staff satisfaction while also reducing overall costs."

About AeroScout

AeroScout is the market leader in Unified Asset Visibility solutions. Customers improve operational efficiency using AeroScout products that leverage standard Wi-Fi networks to track and manage the location, condition and status of mobile assets and people. AeroScout's global customer base consists of leading hospital, manufacturing and logistics organizations, including many of the Fortune 500. The company invented the first Wi-Fi-based Active RFID tag, and today is widely recognized as leading the market in number of deployments and tags shipped. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, AeroScout has offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.aeroscout.com.

AeroScout is a registered trademark of AeroScout, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information is subject to change without notice.