SAN DIEGO -- GetWellNetwork, Inc., the leading provider of interactive patient care solutions, announced today the formation of a new task force of healthcare, content, technology, media and community organizations whose goal will be to continue to evolve the GetWellNetwork interactive patient care platform to meet the specific needs of children's hospitals and the patients and families they serve. The announcement was made at the HIMSS 2006 conference in San Diego, CA (Booth 3414).
The GetWellNetwork Children's Hospital Task Force will focus on further optimizing the existing GetWellNetwork PatientLife:)System(TM) platform for use by pediatric patients and families. System enhancements may include developing child-friendly content, increasing the level of available interactivity, and developing educational and support resources for parents as well as children.
"In conversations with a variety of organizations that share our commitment to improving the patient experience - and in particular, the experience of pediatric patients and their families, we have uncovered a critical shortage in available age-appropriate content," said Michael O'Neil, Jr., Founder and CEO of GetWellNetwork, Inc. "By working with the leading industry organizations to create best-in-class education and entertainment content, we will be able to introduce a new level of interactivity to our system that will drive a tremendous amount of incremental value to our client hospitals. We fundamentally believe that together we will revolutionize the way children experience a healthcare event in their young lives, as well as the way families are empowered to support their loved ones throughout a hospital experience."
Children's Hospitals and GetWellNetwork
GetWellNetwork is currently in partnership with a number of children's hospitals, including Baptist Health Wolfson Children's Hospital (FL), Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children (VA), Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital (SC), Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian (NY), and University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital (IL). Each client hospital will be joining the new task force.
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with GetWellNetwork and other leading organizations to further enhance the GetWellNetwork solution that is currently in place in our hospital. Our patients and family members already love what the system enables them to do right from their bedside. The work of this task force will only improve the experience by making it more relevant to their perspectives. By forming this task force, GetWellNetwork is certainly showing a great commitment to our children's hospital community," said Toni Ardabell, Chief Operating Officer, Inova Fairfax Hospital/Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children.
GetWellNetwork PatientLife:)System
The GetWellNetwork PatientLife:)System is currently installed in more than 30 hospital facilities throughout the United States - bringing a host of education, entertainment and communication technologies to the bedside via hospital room monitors. These integrated tools focus on enhancing the patient experience, increasing communication within care teams and informing patients about their condition during their hospital stay.
The PatientLife:)System is uniquely designed to integrate into a hospital's existing care process. The system's PatientPathway:)Architecture(TM) is a patent-pending technology that automates clinical and non-clinical processes, including patient satisfaction surveys, service management processes, patient education, and patient safety training, among others. The tangible result of deploying Patient Pathways is to literally invite patients, via their bedside hospital monitor, to be active participants in their own care processes, while giving hospitals superior operational performance, enhanced regulatory compliance, and greater patient and caregiver satisfaction.
Children's Hospitals Market
Children's Hospitals work to ensure the health of all children through clinical care, research, training and advocacy. According to the American Hospital Association Guide, there are approximately 250 children's hospital facilities (nearly 5 percent of all hospitals in the United States). These facilities include approximately:
-- 45 freestanding acute care children's hospitals, virtually all of which are teaching hospitals;
-- 40 freestanding children's rehabilitation, specialty and convalescent hospitals, including 16 short term care facilities and 24 long term care facilities;
-- 50 freestanding children's psychiatric hospitals including about 10 short term care and 40 long term care facilities; and
-- 100 joint children's hospitals - large pediatric programs organized within larger medical centers that generally (but not always) call themselves children's hospitals.
Joining the GetWellNetwork Children's Hospital Task Force
Any organization interested in learning more about the GetWellNetwork Children's Hospital Task Force or wanting to join the group is encouraged to send an email to children@getwellnetwork.com.
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