Inpatient Surgery Unit at Cornwall Hospital Equipped with New Wearable Monitors
2023-01-26
The Inpatient Surgery Unit at Cornwall Community Hospital
(CCH) has been equipped with new high-tech Masimo wearable patient monitors to
allow greater patient mobility during recovery and continuous monitoring of
post-operative patients, particularly those at high risk of respiratory
complications from anesthesia or breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep
apnea.
The new Masimo monitors work by having patients wear a
lightweight and wireless device on their arm. Using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
technology, signals are transmitted from the device on the patient’s arm to a
main unit mounted at the bedside or on a trolley.
With continuous wireless monitoring functionality, staff are
alerted of critical changes in oxygen saturation, pulse rate, blood pressure,
and respiration no matter where they or their patients are located. The
wireless monitors also eliminate the need for clinicians to disconnect the
patient each time they get out of bed, reducing some workload for busy staff.
The new monitors will eventually maintain continuous
communication with the hospital’s electronic health record, ensuring up to date
information support for staff and physicians on the care team; a testament to
the hospital’s high adoption of electronic health record technology to improve
clinical outcomes and clinician engagement.
Nearly 25 new wearable Masimo monitors have been installed
on the hospital’s Inpatient Surgery Unit.
“The use of a continuous wireless respiratory monitoring
system for post-operative patients will improve patient safety and outcomes,
especially for those with risk factors for respiratory depression, while the
monitor’s wearable technology will help promote patient mobility, recovery and
comfort,” explains Linda Gravel, Vice-President of Patient Services & Chief
Nursing Officer at Cornwall Hospital. “We’re proud to be advancing innovation
to enhance patient care and support our surgical recovery efforts at Cornwall
Hospital.”
CCH has been hard at work with the implementation of its 2022-2027 Strategic
Plan, which identified Advancing Innovation as a strategic priority to
support the hospital’s post-pandemic recovery efforts. Following 2 years of
disruptions to surgical services due to the pandemic, today operating rooms at
CCH are running safely at 100% capacity and nearly 6,000 surgical procedures
were completed in 2022.