Florida Hospital Tampa Pilots Proactive Patient Monitoring System

Florida Hospital Tampa has adopted EarlySense, a bedside patient monitoring and centralized system. The EarlySense system offers medical professionals the ability to identify early warning signs of patient safety risk and a decline in health. Without ever physically touching the patient, the system measures heart rate, respiration rate, patient movement while in bed as well as how often a patient enters and exits the hospital bed by utilizing a sensor that is placed under the mattress of a bed. The nursing team receives real time alerts on mobile devices or at the control center located in the nurse’s station if there are changes or findings that require attention. The EarlySense sensor pad under the mattress continuously monitors heart rate and respiratory rate, without wires and with no discomfort or restrictions on the patient’s freedom of movement.

“We are committed to elevating healthcare in Tampa Bay by delivering the highest quality of care and enhancing patient safety, which is demonstrated by our early adoption of the EarlySense system,” said John Harding, president and CEO of Florida Hospital Tampa. Last April, Harding announced the hospital’s new computerized system electronic medical record (EMR) and computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems with barcode scanning. These systems are designed to drastically reduce medical errors and streamline patient care. “On April 22 we celebrated our one year anniversary of integrated EMR and today, we are implementing a proactive patient care system. Being the first hospital in the state of Florida highlights our investment in technological enhancements which elevates our commitment to patient safety.”

The EarlySense system is designed to integrate with the hospital’s current clinical workflows, requiring no additional overhead. A key element in preventing hospital readmissions is early detection and timely intervention when a patient’s vital signs, like heart rate and respiratory rate, show early indication of a major change and decline in health. “We are very pleased to add Florida Hospital Tampa to the growing list of US-based hospitals using EarlySense technology to avoid adverse patient events and improve performance. Recently, the Joint Commission came out with a Sentinel Event Alert, warning hospitals to be vigilant about alarm detection and monitoring. Many problems caregivers experience today with current products typically involve monitoring device leads, also called wires; that are physically attached to patients. With EarlySense technology, we do not place leads on a patient, therefore the same types of problems experienced with traditional monitoring technology can be avoided. We are excited about tracking the results and potential improvements that will be experienced by the implementation of the EarlySense system at Florida Hospital of Tampa” said Tim O’Malley, president, EarlySense Inc.

The EarlySense system offers many advantages for the Florida Hospital Tampa medical teams when it comes to monitoring and detecting patient deterioration, whether it is respiratory depression, or cardiac compromise. One example is the ability to have a trending package within the EarlySense monitor. This feature provides early indication of a potential adverse event. It is well documented that detection of early warning signs, 6-8 hours prior to an adverse event, can make the difference between patient survival, or not. This system empowers staff to monitor patients, as well as reduce patient readmissions, pressure ulcers and falls. Florida Hospital Tampa is deploying EarlySense on one nursing unit in the hospital to collect data and monitor EarlySense results. Based on the findings, the hospital will develop a phased approach to deployment throughout the rest of the hospital.