Palmetto
Health Selects Ekahau for Campus Wide Asset
Tracking
Palmetto Health deploys the Ekahau Wi-Fi Real-Time
Location System in its Richland campus to track
hospital equipment and other valuable assets.
Saratoga,
CA, - April 7th, 2005 - Ekahau today
announced that Palmetto Health, the leading
healthcare provider in South Carolina, has chosen
the Ekahau RTLS (Real-Time Location System)
solution as the basis for tracking critical
hospital equipment and assets within its Richland
campus. The Ekahau RTLS system provides real-time
visibility into the whereabouts of critical
enterprise resources, assets and people, in
indoor and campus environments. Unlike other
tracking solutions, the Ekahau system uses the
existing Wi-Fi network as the means to locate
small Wi-Fi radio tags that can be attached
to virtually any object.
The Ekahau deployment at Palmetto
Health Richland will consist of the main building
and the Cancer Center, where the campus already
has a Wi-Fi network in place. The Ekahau solution
being deployed consists of the Ekahau Positioning
Engine 3.1, Ekahau T-201 tags and the Ekahau
RTLS application suite that extends asset visibility
onto any browser-based device on the campus.
Using the Ekahau RTLS solution, the biomedical
team , caregivers and other staff at Palmetto
Health Richland will be able to locate all tagged
assets, such as infusion pumps, patient beds,
wheelchairs and other medical equipment in real-time
throughout the campus using Pocket PC's, C.O.W
( Computer on Wheels ) carts or any computer
workstation on the Richland campus. Using the
Ekahau system, also other wireless devices,
such as Laptops, PDAs, and handheld barcode
readers with built-in Wi-Fi can be tracked.
"We are very excited to have been
chosen by a prestigious healthcare provider
such as Palmetto Health as their partner for
deploying our location tracking solutions" said
Mr. Tuomo Rutanen, VP Business Development,
Ekahau, Inc. "The Ekahau RTLS solution is an
ideal fit for Palmetto Health Richland, allowing
them to leverage their installed 802.11 network
for asset tracking ultimately throughout the
entire campus.
Palmetto Health Richland chose
to work with Ekahau because it will gain a tremendous
cost savings advantage by leveraging their existing
Wi-Fi network. Other benefits include being
able to quickly install and commission the Ekahau
RTLS system without disrupting any of the day
to day operations Palmetto Health Richland hopes
to increase the capabilities of the Ekahau system
to cover the entire campus which will be completely
Wi-Fi enabled in 2005. This will allow other
departments to gain valuable workflow and throughput
enhancements.
Due to the quick installation
of the Ekahau RTLS system, healthcare facilities
such as Palmetto Health Richland will begin
generating a payback within months. The Ekahau
system provides a tangible Return on Investment
(ROI) in various forms. These include the ability
to reduce equipment rentals, optimize usage
of the existing asset base, reduce theft and
accidental losses as well as reduce the staff
time spent looking for critical patient care
equipment. In the case of Palmetto Health Richland,
the Ekahau RTLS solution drives efficiencies
by reducing the amount of time their hospital
staff spend looking for medical equipment and
eliminating expensive rental programs. Palmetto
Health Richland will also be able to manage
their excess capacity costs by reducing their
annual recapitalization of missing, lost or
stolen equipment.
About Palmetto Health
Palmetto Health is South Carolina's largest
and most comprehensive healthcare resource.
In our progressive environment, the latest technology
and treatment protocols go hand-in-hand with
quality patient care. Our system is composed
of three outstanding hospitals-Palmetto Health
Richland, and Palmetto Health Baptist in Columbia
and Easley. Each year, our hospitals treat nearly
a half million patients, welcome nearly 6,300
babies into the world, treat more than 82,000
pediatric patients and 3,000 cancer patients,
accommodate 129,000 Emergency department visits
and make nearly 50,000 home care visits.
About Ekahau Inc.
Ekahau, Inc. is the industry leader in location-enabling
Wi-Fi networks. Ekahau's customers include leading
corporations around the world that are realizing
the benefits of Wi-Fi-based location services
and innovative network planning and optimization
tools. Ekahau partners include wireless software
developers, leading system integrators, and
international OEM partners, who develop and
market next generation location-based applications.
For more information about Ekahau or LBE Partner
Program, please visit at www.ekahau.com
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