A real time early warning system helps facility staff keep potential wandering patients in the building

As part of Bon Secours’ effort to provide a more safe environment for the residents of the Suffolk Virginia’s Maryview Nursing Care Center, administrator Stacy Guzik contacted Ameritone for a solution to the growing issue of wandering patients.

“Patient safety and well being is the number one focus here at Maryview”, said Guzik. “We have a responsibility to our residents and their families to keep their loved ones safe. Wandering outside the building unsupervised is not only a serious safety risk, but a state code violation as well.”

A basic systems integration solution to the rescue

Ameritone technology engineers devised a simple integration between the existing door locking hardware (Dynalock’s 3101c delayed egress maglock) and a new automatic paging announcement system. This solution provides a 15 second advance audible notification via the facility’s overhead paging system to identify the door being breached. The overhead announcement gives staff members a 15 second head start to get to the door and intervene with the resident and escort them back away from the exiting door. The solution has proved to be invaluable and has now dramatically reduced the number of elopements in the facility.