Case Study Reveals Significant Energy Savings with Systems Integration at El Camino Hospital
Austin, TX (PRWEB) September 30, 2014 -- Allen Technologies and the Building Technologies Division of Siemens Industry, Inc. will be co-presenting a case study at the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo in Chicago that reveals significant energy cost savings through system integration at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA. The presentation by Jerry Folsom, Allen Technologies President & CEO; Ronald Greaves LEED® AP and Siemens’ Healthcare Business Initiatives Head; and Marty Kobaly, El Camino Hospital Project Manager, is scheduled for 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm on October 1, 2014.
Titled Implementing an Integrated Interactive Patient System to Achieve Energy Savings, the case study will highlight three important points: how system integration can drastically impact financial operational savings; how patient satisfaction impacts the top line; and how system automation and integration can improve caregiver efficiency.
Recently named the “Most Technologically-Advanced Hospital in the World” by Top Masters in Healthcare Administration. El Camino is also recognized as a leader in patient experience and satisfaction. “As a hospital known for our superior technological expertise, we continuously look at all of the areas that impact patient satisfaction. We realized that comfort could be increased by enabling patients to control the temperature in their rooms right from their beds, while also reducing energy costs when patients rooms are unoccupied,” said Marty Kobaly, Project Manager at El Camino Hospital.
“We always look for opportunities that deliver operational savings as well as improve workflows," continued Mr. Kobaly. “We knew there had to be areas where we could cut energy consumption and several years ago began to evaluate where and when our energy costs could be reduced. Recently we saw a study by The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy that showed ‘Every dollar a non-profit healthcare organization saves on energy is equivalent to generating $20 in new revenue for hospitals or $10 for medical offices.’ That study confirmed to us that we were on the right path. Energy savings has the potential to significantly impact our bottom line because hospital energy costs are a large portion of operating expenses.”
The hospital began evaluating its energy costs and potential areas for conservation. Working with the Siemens Building Automation System (BAS) and the Allen Interactive Patient System (IPS), the hospital discovered it could enable a patient to control the room’s temperature right from the bed. Using the IPS pillow speaker, the patient could view the room’s current temperature on the TV and adjust it without having to summon someone from the hospital staff. The signal requesting the new temperature is sent directly to the HVAC system and the change is instantaneous. The benefits of this system integration were immediate and included a reduction in potential falls since patients can remain in bed; improved staff efficiency by eliminating the need to respond to more than 400 daily thermostat change requests; and increased patient satisfaction that can impact HCAHPS results.
The other major opportunity for reducing energy costs was identified with unoccupied patient rooms. Once a patient room is unoccupied the heating, cooling, and electrical energy could be reduced. Tying together the hospital Admit/Discharge/Transfer system with the patent-pending Allen Intelligent Environment Module™ (IEM) and Siemens BAS enabled El Camino Hospital to automatically adjust room settings based on the room's status.
Since its deployment, the system integration has reduced the maintenance and repair costs for the HVAC equipment and is projected to save the hospital an estimated $100,000 in energy costs – heating, cooling, and electric plant energy.
About El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 443-bed, nonprofit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif. In addition to state-of-the-art emergency departments, key medical specialties include behavioral health, cancer care, genomic medicine, heart and vascular, neuroscience, orthopedic and spine, senior health, urology, and the first women’s hospital in Northern California. The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as back-to-back ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care.
To learn more, visit our website, find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or view our videos on YouTube. For a physician referral, visit our website or call the El Camino Health Line at 800-216-5556.
About Allen Technologies
As a recognized pioneer of interactive patient solutions, Allen Technologies has been transforming hospital TVs into state of the art communication and education portals for more than three decades. We continue to invest in research and development to ensure that we are bringing the latest, relevant technological advancements to our customers. Our mission is to develop and deliver exceptional interactive patient education and entertainment solutions at the point-of-care that address the key challenges faced by hospitals today.
Visit us online at http://www.allen-ips.com
About Siemens Building Technologies
The Building Technologies Division of Siemens Industry, Inc. is the world leader in the market for safe and secure, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly buildings and infrastructures. As technology partner, service provider, system integrator, and product vendor, Siemens has offerings for safety and security, as well as building automation; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); and energy management. With approximately 28,000 employees worldwide, Siemens Building Technologies generated revenue of approx. 5.8 billion Euro. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies.
Krista Weirman, Allen Technologies, +1 (512) 681-7124, [email protected]
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