Sprint Mobility Solutions Simplify Healthcare Business and Enhance Patient Care

Nextel Direct Connect, Mobile Broadband and In-Building Network Solutions from Sprint Extend the Workplace; Provide Effective Communications

With more than 30 years supporting the healthcare industry, Sprint (NYSE:S) continues to provide innovative and cost-effective mobility solutions that help healthcare providers balance patient care, operational efficiency and cost management. In 2007, Sprint saw a significant growth in the adoption of mobility solutions by healthcare providers with a growing interest among hospital and caregivers for adopting Nextel Direct Connect, Sprint Mobile Broadband and Converged Network Solutions (CNS) from Sprint.

“Sprint is leading the path in helping healthcare providers streamline their operations and improve communications by offering them with innovative mobile solutions,” says Bill Montgomery, national director of Healthcare sales for Sprint. “We are helping physicians to get the job done wherever their rounds take them.”

A fast, reliable push-to-talk solution such as Nextel Direct Connect allows easier coordination among first responders, dispatchers and hospitals, helping to improve survival rates for victims. Several hospitals across the United States use Nextel Direct Connect to benefit from its one-touch push-to-talk capability which offers instant communications within less than a second. Physicians, nurses, emergency room attendants and staff can communicate with each other at the push of a button, making informed decisions that can save lives.

“Nextel Direct Connect offers a simple, instant and effective way for our staff to communicate in the trauma center, helping save time which leads to efficiency and enhanced patient care,” says Dr. Michael Suk, Director of the Orthopedic Trauma Service at Shands Medical Center. “Now I no longer have to page a doctor and wait for a response. Instead with the push of a button, I am instantly connected and get immediate responses to my needs.”

In an unpublished medical research study, Dr. Suk documents the benefits of using Nextel Direct Connect technology over traditional pagers. The results indicate that the use of Nextel Direct Connect increased the efficiency of day-to-day acute and sub-acute patient care in the trauma setting.

“Time is very crucial in the trauma center and Nextel Direct Connect helps us save time through instant communications. As a physician, how many times have I wished for that extra time in a day to help save another life?” says Dr. Suk. “Our research shows that response times are instantaneous with Nextel Direct Connect and we all agree that better and faster communication is directly related to better response and patient care. With these results, I think Nextel Direct Connect should be in every hospital in America.”

Continuous and reliable communications is key to high-quality patient care within hospitals, making wireless connectivity a huge priority. Sprint’s CNS team understands this and offers in-building solutions that provide enhanced, dependable wireless connectivity and coverage throughout the hospital campus, facilitating continuous communications between physicians and nurses and giving them the power to access critical patient information on their handsets, when and wherever they need it.

West Palm Beach VA Hospital found the perfect partner in Sprint to provide wireless connectivity across their campus in Florida. Dorothy Whigham, telecommunication specialist at West Palm Beach VA Hospital notes, “The enhanced wireless connectivity provided by the Sprint CNS team has provided us with consistent, high quality and reliable communications through all our buildings, keeping our employees connected and informed at all times.”

Studies show that patients recover more quickly in their own environment; as a result nurses that care for at-home patients end up spending a lot of time on the road. Sprint, in partnership with several application developers, offers point of care solutions that allow better management of time and travel and help simplify the business by reducing unnecessary paperwork, automating workflows, providing mobile access to patient data and streamlining billing and collections. With a Sprint smart phone and GPS solutions, mobile nurses not only have the ability to send immediate updates and status alerts back to their main offices, but can also access locations and routes while in the field.

Montgomery notes, “With Sprint’s Home Healthcare Solutions, home healthcare providers now have the ability to manage the efficiency of their mobile workers while continuing to deliver the quality care and satisfaction their patients deserve.”

Sprint will be demonstrating all these solutions in Booth # 4562 at the 2008 HIMSS Annual Conference, Feb. 25 - Feb. 28, 2008 in Orlando, Fla. Sprint offers voice and data services for the healthcare industry; has a full data-services portfolio including business-continuity, wireless, wireline and managed services. In addition, Sprint’s strong portfolio of security products and services can also help healthcare organizations address HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) security requirements. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/healthcare.
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