READ the final NIH report on AccuNurse Beta Testing.

Having experienced excellent outcomes, AccuNurse was fully implemented in skilled care at Kendal at Longwood and nearly 20 Certified Nursing Assistants have been trained to use the program. The program has been greatly enhanced since the Beta testing and is now being implemented in other long term care settings, including our own Crosslands and UPMC Senior Communities. (See recent article in Long Term Living magazine. Kendal at Longwood hosted UPMC staff as they explored this program for their settings.) The objectives of AccuNurse are to increase accuracy, efficiency and quality of care provided by staff and to reduce costs by decreasing staff overtime.

AccuNurse includes headsets connected to belt-worn computers that communicate over a wireless network with an AccuNurse server, which contains care plan information for all residents. Nursing assistants speak into the headsets to request care plans and record information about the care they are providing. AccuNurse converts their speech into real-time reports that are used by Kendal nursing staff and management for monitoring resident care and staff progress. According to Celia Agustin, Administrator, “Our nursing assistants can listen to the care plans and document at the point-of-care much more effectively – with little effort, no writing and no computers.”

In addition to charting convenience, AccuNurse provides person-to-person communications, allowing staff members to silently page one another. “Our nursing staff has access to instant, real-time communications and information that is also more accurate,” said Agustin. “That helps tremendously with shift changes and also with staying up-to-speed with the care required for all our residents.”

But the bottom line, according to Rich Lysle, Executive Director, is the staff’s overwhelming acceptance of AccuNurse. “Our staff is very committed to the system, and the study results convinced us that using AccuNurse is a significant step toward making Kendal at Longwood a better place to work and a better place for our residents to live. With AccuNurse, our staff is spending less time on paperwork, documentation and chasing down staff; and spending more time with residents. Those are the benefits you don’t necessarily assign a dollar amount to; but, they are the very fabric of our organization." One resident, when asked about her experience with the system, said, "I hated this thing when I moved in but I love it now! Now I understand it better."

Kendal at Longwood, a 144-acre Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, promotes independence, health, security and a sense of home for older persons so that residents may realize their full potential. Kendal at Longwood has, from its beginning in 1973, sought opportunities to lead the way for new and exciting advancements in meeting the needs of older people. To support its mission, the Kendal organization relies not only on the energies and good will of its staff members, board members, and residents, but also on the use of technology that advances its service of care to older persons.

OBJECTIVES

• Increase accuracy, efficiency and quality of care provided by staff.
• Reduce costs by decreasing staff overtime.

RESULTS (As reported from National Institute on Aging Final Report, 30 June 2006)

• Reduced nurse overtime by more than 50%.
• Reduced time spent on paperwork up to 27 minutes per staff member per shift.
• Replaced end-of-shift meetings with audible reports, saving up to 30 minutes per staff member per shift.
• Reduced time spent searching for staff by more than 70% for both nurses and nursing assistants.
• Increased speed, ease and accuracy of documenting residents’ dietary information, resulting in savings of one full-time equivalent.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

• One year payback from nursing hours reduction alone.
• Improved documentation for state surveys.
• Enabled staff to spend more time with residents.

BENEFITS

1. Improved care of residents
2. Time saved
3. Improved communication and accountability
4. More pleasant environment - reduced noise
5. Improved resident and family satisfaction
6. Supports other disciplines
7. Improved financial bottom line