Operational Costs Decreased with SigmaCare in Long-Term Care Facility

The Valley View Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care is a 520 bed long term care facility nestled in the valley of a farming community in Goshen, NY.  The Valley View Administration selected the SigmaCare^TM system for its wireless, mobile technology because they wanted clinicians to be able to place orders and review clinical information anywhere within their four-building campus.  The SigmaCare^TM technology, built on the Microsoft .NET platform, supports extensive interoperability and scalability which allows integration with their pharmacy, laboratory and billing systems.  In addition, because the Application Service Provider (ASP) technology is supported by a highly available offsite, secure HIPAA-compliant Data Hosting Facility, the Valley View Center did not have to make the considerable investment in its own data center and IT staff to support the operation of SigmaCare^TM within their facility.

The eHealth Solutions (EHS) project team installed an enterprise-grade 802.11b wireless network infrastructure (WiFi) throughout the expansive four-building campus in January 2005.  Ruggedized PDA handheld devices and backup battery chargers were installed throughout the facility.  As part of a thorough examination of the facility’s policies and procedures, the EHS project team documented their findings which were reviewed and approved by the Valley View Administration.  With a thorough understanding of the practices and workflow within the facility, the EHS project team customized and configured the SigmaCare^TM application prior to training and back-order entry.

In February 2005, training began onsite at the Valley View facility.  The EHS project team set up a classroom environment within a designated area at the facility.  Laptop computers, PDA handheld devices, user manuals, and training guides were all provided and set up by the EHS project team within the onsite classroom.  Based on the direction of the Valley View Administration, student groups were determined in advance of training and staff members were notified of the training schedules.

The training consisted of a structured three-day curriculum with an emphasis on hands-on exercises for both the browser and PDA handheld device.  Class sessions were led by an experienced EHS trainer and the students were assisted by additional EHS personnel during the hands-on exercises.  Key staff members within the facility (known as “super users”) from each nursing unit and department (e.g., staff development, clinical instructors) were assigned to the initial training sessions.  Separate training sessions were conducted for the physicians and nurse practitioners.  The selection of students in the subsequent training sessions was based on the deployment schedule within the facility.  For example, the Valley View Administration wanted to deploy SigmaCare^TM on their most complex units first since the residents on those units had the most physician orders.

While training was taking place within the classroom at the facility, the EHS project team was supervising the back-order entry process on each nursing unit based on the deployment schedule.  Previously trained nurses were responsible for entering clinical information and standing physician orders then physicians were responsible for approving those orders.  When all the orders were approved on a given nursing unit then the Valley View Administration designated that unit as live on SigmaCare^TM. 

The EHS project team supervised by the project manager continued to conduct training sessions in the classroom and on the live nursing units.  In addition, EHS trainers were assigned to each shift so clinicians on the live nursing units were adequately supported on the 7AM-3PM, 3PM-11PM and 11PM-7AM shifts.  The EHS trainers reported issues and feedback from each shift to the project manager during a daily status meeting.  The EHS project manager then met with the Valley View Administration to escalate and prioritize issues so remediation plans could be developed.  Implementation of the remediation plans resulted either in changes to the SigmaCare^TM application or operational changes within the facility enacted through new policies and procedures.

After only ten weeks, all 15 nursing units were live on SigmaCare^TM at the Valley View facility which included training for over 200 staff members.

A year after the training started, we are proud to announce the results of the SigmaCare^TM implementation at the Valley View Center.  The mobile, wireless technology of SigmaCare^TM has been proven to:

• Increase profitability for the facility
• Improve staff satisfaction and performance
• Enhance resident safety and quality of care

SigmaCare^TM saved Valley View $435,000.00 in 2005 and streamlined the following operations which were considered problematic for the facility prior to the implementation:

Total Benefit:  $435,000.00 annually or $2.29 per bed per day

 Download  the full Valley View Center Case Study.

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