Skylight Unveils Partnership With Lowell General Hospital

Telephone IP News, March 1, 2008

Skylight Healthcare Systems(r), San Diego, an industry pioneer in interactive patient system technology, has signed a contract with Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Mass. Lowell General Hospital will equip nearly 200 beds with the Skylight ACCESS(r) Interactive Patient System, empowering patients with information, education and services that greatly enhance their overall experience and ultimately improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Lowell General Hospital, a not-for-profit community hospital, was recently named among the nation's top performance improvement leader hospitals by Thomson Healthcare (formerly Solucient) -- a leading healthcare industry performance improvement evaluation organization. As part of their continued effort to engage patients and families in their care experience, patients at Lowell General Hospital will now have direct access to disease- and condition-specific health information (offered both on-demand, and when integrated with other hospital systems, scheduled based on matching patient clinical needs with targeted interventions), connection to patient support departments, and a real-time feedback forum which will allow the hospitals to solicit patient feedback and then provide immediate service recovery to address any patient issues. Patients will also enjoy high-speed Internet, e-mail and other first-class entertainment options including movies, music and games.

Using Skylight ACCESS combined with admission, discharge and transfer data, and HL7 (or other) interfaces, events are mapped along the patient care continuum and appropriate communication, education, information and messaging functions are deployed to optimize the patient experience and enhance clinical outcomes.

The Skylight ACCESS Interactive Patient System uses a robust, dedicated fiber network infrastructure combined with a proprietary technology platform to offer exceptional bandwidth and speed, allowing extensive integrated communication applications at the bedside. The technology is cutting-edge, but user friendly. Patients will use a customized pillow speaker control or a wireless keyboard to control the ACCESS system, and existing in-room television monitors are repurposed as the display device.

"Skylight is proud to have been selected by Lowell General Hospital," said David Schofield, president and CEO of Skylight. "This partnership demonstrates its innovative approach and deep level of commitment to providing the very best in patient care," he continued.

About Skylight Health Systems

Skylight(r) Healthcare Systems is the industry pioneer in interactive patient system technology. With patient communication as the cornerstone of a safe, comfortable and clinically optimal hospital experience, the Skylight ACCESS(r) Interactive Patient System encourages patient and family to actively participate in their health care, improves communication between staff and patient/family members, and can provide a smoother and faster recovery and discharge plan. Skylight's overall vision is to provide hospitals with a robust tool which will allow them to greatly enhance communication along the entire patient care continuum. In nearly 10,000 installed locations, leading hospital administrators have confidently selected Skylight Healthcare Systems as the proven choice for their interactive patient system technology. Skylight Healthcare Systems is headquartered in San Diego, California.

For more information, visit http://www.skylight.com or call 858/523-3732.