Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Launches GetWellTV: Interactive Bedside Patient Communication, Education and Entertainment

Business Wire, August 31, 2004

BERKELEY & SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Alta Bates Summit Medical Center announced today a contract with San Diego-based Skylight Systems to install GetWellTV in a total of 565 beds throughout Alta Bates Summit's patient rooms in the Berkeley and Oakland communities. Starting in August, Alta Bates Summit's patients will have access to interactive patient communication, education and entertainment directly from the bedside through GetWellTV's patient connectivity system. Patient rooms in Alta Bates Summit Medical Center's, Alta Bates, Herrick and Summit campuses will be connected to the GetWellTV system.

Upgrading the hospital's entertainment, communication and information delivery through the customized functions of GetWellTV were important elements in the decision to wire the campuses with the services. "Understanding the impact of the hospital environment on the patient experience, lead us to upgrade our patient rooms to be as comfortable and convenient as possible," commented Wes Palmquist, administrative director of Support Services. "Our aim is to make the patient stay a more enjoyable experience by significantly improving hospitality functions, and bringing a level of engagement, empowerment and entertainment not previously offered to patients." The GetWellTV system empowers patients and guests with key hospital information and services at the touch of a button. "Requests for in-room services come directly to our department, reducing unnecessary nurse intervention, and the system provides us the management tools to examine recurring service issues, track and manage response time, ultimately improving patient satisfaction," continued Palmquist.

Other valuable features the GetWellTV system provide on-demand patient education videos that educate patients and families on vital information about specific conditions, recovery and general health topics and a daily schedule to keep patients informed about their day. "People can view videos on how to manage their health, as well as take a survey or access daily schedules to find out when they'll eat lunch or receive physical therapy right from the television set in their hospital room," added Patti Pattison, R.N., director of Continuing Education at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.

"By providing added amenities to keep patients entertained, connected and empowered, Alta Bates Summit Medical Centers decision to install GetWellTV is keeping with its mission to 'enhance the health and well being of the people in the communities (they) serve through compassion and excellence.' Patients will have access to a wide variety of capabilities through GetWellTV, including: inter-departmental communication, hospitality services, on-demand health education videos, e-mail, Internet, cable channels and premium movies," commented David Schofield, CEO of Skylight Systems.

"It was a combined decision by nursing, facilities and marketing to bring GetWellTV into our patient rooms," said Jill Gruen, administrative director of Marketing at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. "We anticipate that GetWellTV will raise the patient experience to a whole new level through the communication, education and entertainment components. As for the hospital, we are now able to effectively use technology through the GetWellTV system to bring the patient satisfaction objectives of these three departments together to present a unified patient experience."

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was formed in 1999 merging 100 years of caring in the communities of the Greater East Bay. This century of commitment brings together the rich heritages of these Berkeley and Oakland hospitals: Alta Bates, Herrick, Merritt, Providence and Peralta.

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is a multi-campus tertiary acute care medical center with over 1,000 beds, 5,000 employees and over 1,000 active physicians. The medical center's areas of excellence include Emergency Services, Women and Infants (including a Level III Newborn ICU), Cardiovascular, Orthopedics, Oncology, Mental Health, Acute Rehabilitation and Medical Surgical. Other services include a bone marrow transplant program, chemical dependency treatment services, high risk obstetrics and Imaging.

Located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is part of Sutter Health, one of the nation's leading not-for-profit networks of community health services. For more information about Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, visit www.altabatessummit.org.

Skylight Systems

Skylight Systems is the fastest growing hospital services network and amenities provider in the nation. The company focuses on products and services that create operational efficiencies and improve patient satisfaction and productivity.

GetWellTV is an interactive bedside entertainment and communication network designed to recreate the comforts of home and hotel and to provide an efficient platform for automating administrative hospital services at the bedside. State-of-the-art digital Entertainment Services include feature film rentals, premium cable TV, music, high-speed Internet, e-mail access and interactive games. GetWellTV's administrative hospital services include On-Demand Health Education, Patient Survey Technology, Interactive Communication Services and Dietary Menu Services. For more information please visit: www.skylight.com.