Li Loriz, director of the Brooks College
of Health School of Nursing Flagship Program, likes to simulate real-life
situations when educating nurses. An in-kind gift to The Power of Transformation campaign by a Jacksonville company
brings her one step closer to fully immersing her students in a hands-on,
on-the-job learning setting.
Intego Systems Inc. recently donated a
fully functional nurse call system and integrated software valued at about
$40,000 to the School of Nursing. Loriz said the system fits perfectly with the
school’s nursing lab, which simulates a hospital ward right down to the
mannequins who serve as patients.
“We want to create an environment as
close as possible to what our nurses will encounter in the real world,” Loriz
said. “The nurse call system is an
important component to assure timely communication between the patient and the
health care provider.”
Loriz said the equipment will not only
become part of the skill-based curriculum but will also be an element in
leadership training for nurses.
“Our nurses are actually directing a team
of health care providers,” she said. “It’s not only important for them to
become familiar with the technology but to be able to use it to exercise their
leadership in a hospital setting.”
The new system is not only present in the
nursing lab but also has been wired in hallways and student lounges on the 3rd
floor of the Brooks College of Health. This will allow students to respond to calls
outside of the lab setting.
Another important element of the system
is the ability to differentiate between different types of calls. Health care
providers summoned to the patient’s room will be able to assess the situation
and quickly summon additional assistance if needed.
The system is actually the brainchild of
Charles E. Bell Sr., who founded Intego Systems Inc. in 1983. Last year, he
negotiated the sale of the Jacksonville company to Critical Alert Systems, LLC.
He became an equity partner in the firm where he was appointed to the role of
chief strategy and business development officer.
Bell, who has more than 35 years of
experience in the hardware and software design, manufacturing and branding of
health care products, is also a member of the Brooks College of Health’s Dean’s
Council.
Although he praised nursing education, he
said in some cases, emphasis has been placed on clinical training while
technological training is sometimes lacking.
“We are building all this new technology
to increase patient satisfaction and caregiver retention,” Bell said. “I’m very
happy our new nurses are getting the needed training in this area.”
Several different configurations of call
systems are in hospitals across the country. Each is critical to nursing
success, Bell emphasized.
“We estimate about 40 percent of the
calls are non-nursing related,” he said. “Without an effectively organized call
system, a nurse can easily be overwhelmed.”
Bell said the Intego system, when
centralized with all calls handled by a dedicated call attendant, aims to
provide a response within 10 seconds and deliver service to the room in five to
seven minutes.
That type of response may be drastically
different from what many patients have experienced in the real world. However,
Loriz is optimistic it can be achieved with the proper combination of highly
trained nurses and state-of-the art technology. Part of the gift also involves
training for the system so faculty and students realize all of its potential.
“We are grateful to Mr. Bell for this
technology,” Loriz said. “I know our nurses will be grateful on their first day
on the job when they assume responsibilities in a real hospital setting.”
