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St.Vincent Is First Indiana Hospital to Premiere Skylight's ACCESS Interactive Patient System

Posted on: Monday, 26 September 2005, 06:00 CDT

St.Vincent and Skylight Healthcare Systems are creatively addressing patient entertainment and communication needs with new technology.

Patients at St.Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, St.Vincent Children's Hospital and St.Vincent Women's Hospital can e-mail family and friends, watch premium movies, play interactive games and request hospitality services right from their hospital beds. St.Vincent Indianapolis Hospital is the first healthcare facility in the state to offer San Diego-based Skylight Healthcare's ACCESS Interactive Patient System (formerly called GetWellTV), a technology that will forever change the patient experience.

St.Vincent and ACCESS Interactive Patient System technology represent an unequaled pairing for providing expert patient services. "St.Vincent is well-known as a leader in providing innovative technology combined with personalized care," said Patricia A. Maryland, DR, P.H., president of St.Vincent Hospitals and Health Services. "Skylight's ACCESS was chosen for its superior depth and breadth of patient and staff applications, ease of use and commitment to service. It is the next logical step in our commitment to excellence."

ACCESS turns existing hospital television sets into entertainment and communication centers that can be customized by each patient. The technology is innovative, yet user friendly. Each television receives a set-top box. Patients use a familiar remote control and wireless keyboard to control the system, empowering them to stay connected to home, business, friends, family and entertainment.

David J. Schofield, President and CEO of Skylight Systems, believes, "It is essential for leading hospitals, such as St.Vincent, to maintain an edge in the competitive healthcare market. We believe that ACCESS provides hospitals with such an edge, offering a system that encompasses a variety of amenities, yielding limitless opportunities for patients and staff."

St.Vincent and Skylight Healthcare Enhance Patient Care

Reinforcing care regimens helps patients recover more quickly. In addition to entertainment options, Skylight's ACCESS Interactive Patient System provides an effective platform for delivering health education information. Patients can watch health content videos on demand and replay them for better comprehension or for friends and family.

This is a particularly important aspect of the ACCESS system according to Michael Wiemann, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at St.Vincent. "Knowledge is power in helping restore patients to health. With ACCESS, patients will have the ability to view health content videos on-demand from the comfort of their beds and clinical staff will benefit from tracking and knowledge testing capabilities. Skylight's ACCESS Interactive Patient System is the perfect partner for our staff to empower patients."

Jean M. Meyer, R.N., MSN, Chief Nursing Officer and St.Vincent Senior Vice President, agrees. "Simply put, ACCESS helps nurses do what they do best, care for patients. Patients have the power to send service requests directly to the appropriate departments. For example, patients can request housekeeping or religious services right from the bedside. Meanwhile, nurses can focus on clinical needs. There's no better way to help us achieve our mission of providing superior clinical, spiritually-centered and holistic care."

Photo and interview opportunities available upon request.

About St.Vincent Hospitals & Health Services

St.Vincent Indianapolis Hospitals & Health Services are dedicated to spiritually-centered, holistic care, which sustains and improves the health of individuals and communities. St.Vincent Indianapolis Hospital is one of the 16 Indiana facilities in the Indianapolis-based St.Vincent Health network. A member of Ascension Health, the largest Catholic health care system in the county, the ageless mission of St.Vincent Health is to minister to the minds, bodies and spirits of those in need.

About Skylight Healthcare Systems

San Diego-based Skylight Healthcare Systems is the fastest growing interactive patient system provider in the nation. Skylight's products and services improve patient satisfaction, enhance staff productivity and create administrative efficiencies for the hospital. Skylight's ACCESS(SM) Interactive Patient System (formerly called GetWellTV) is a patient room communication, education and entertainment network designed to provide an efficient platform for communicating hospital information, automating guest service requests, and recreating the comforts of home with hotel-like amenities. The ACCESS system's administrative hospital services include health education on demand; real-time patient survey applications; interactive, two-way communications; dietary menu services and more. State-of-the-art digital entertainment and communication services include feature film rentals, premium cable TV, music, high-speed Internet, e-mail access and interactive games. For more information about Skylight Healthcare Systems, please visit: www.skylight.com.

Source: Business Wire

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