Officials and staff at Auburn Memorial Hospital got to look into the future of health-care communication Monday.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
From left, Erin Foley, practice administrator for Auburn Memorial Medical Services and Chris Ryan, chief information officer for Auburn Memorial Hospital, listen as Kimberly Cheeseman-Layton, a solution account manager for Cisco Systems Inc., speaks about the advantages of updated communication networks Monday afternoon. Billy Dunn, a demonstration specialist for Cisco, looks on.
From left, Erin Foley, practice administrator for Auburn Memorial Medical Services and Chris Ryan, chief information officer for Auburn Memorial Hospital, listen as Kimberly Cheeseman-Layton, a solution account manager for Cisco Systems Inc., speaks about the advantages of updated communication networks Monday afternoon. Billy Dunn, a demonstration specialist for Cisco, looks on.
During an otherwise slow Columbus Day at the hospital, representatives from California-based technology firm Cisco Systems Inc. showed off the possibilities that new technologies can bring to hospitals like AMH.
The company, which could soon be working with the hospital to upgrade its phone and computer networks, told board members, executives and other hospital staff members how those upgrades might look.
Kimberly Cheeseman-Layton, solutions account manager with Cisco, and other company representatives demonstrated programs that would integrate computer and phone systems with patient care to make the hospital function more efficiently.
Cisco gave presentations throughout the day inside a touring van, filled with computer screens, phones and networking equipment, that was parked in a hospital lot.
A video phone program directed through computers could allow face-to-face conversations between patients, doctors, nurses and other health care workers. Ideally, consultations and even some diagnoses could take place without leaving the home.
The same system has an interface much like an instant message program that allows the user to locate doctors and other personnel to see who is available and how to contact them. Another system would allow patients to page and make requests from their rooms through personal handsets held by nurses and other staff members.
“We're showing (AMH officials) what they can do, the possibilities and the solutions,” said Cheeseman-Layton. “Why not integrate the technology to keep the process flowing?”
Auburn Memorial has been updating its technological capabilities since emerging from financial turmoil in summer 2008.
In March, the hospital launched a two-year computer system overhaul. AMH has also added new pieces of equipment that include a mammography unit, magnetic resonance imaging and updates to operating rooms.
Chris Ryan, chief information officer for AMH, said the hospital is working closely with Cisco to build an infrastructure that will help provide better quality care for the patients.
These programs can help connect AMH to other facilities like rural clinics in surrounding communities or larger hospitals, both Ryan and Cheeseman-Layton said.
“These days, the technology is so sophisticated. You can have a doctor ... making a diagnosis over a video screen,” Ryan said.
And with initiatives to improve health care technology coming form the federal level, Cheeseman-Layton said demand for these technologies are already high, and getting higher.
“The possibilities are endless,” Cheeseman-Layton said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
The company, which could soon be working with the hospital to upgrade its phone and computer networks, told board members, executives and other hospital staff members how those upgrades might look.
Kimberly Cheeseman-Layton, solutions account manager with Cisco, and other company representatives demonstrated programs that would integrate computer and phone systems with patient care to make the hospital function more efficiently.
Cisco gave presentations throughout the day inside a touring van, filled with computer screens, phones and networking equipment, that was parked in a hospital lot.
A video phone program directed through computers could allow face-to-face conversations between patients, doctors, nurses and other health care workers. Ideally, consultations and even some diagnoses could take place without leaving the home.
The same system has an interface much like an instant message program that allows the user to locate doctors and other personnel to see who is available and how to contact them. Another system would allow patients to page and make requests from their rooms through personal handsets held by nurses and other staff members.
“We're showing (AMH officials) what they can do, the possibilities and the solutions,” said Cheeseman-Layton. “Why not integrate the technology to keep the process flowing?”
Auburn Memorial has been updating its technological capabilities since emerging from financial turmoil in summer 2008.
In March, the hospital launched a two-year computer system overhaul. AMH has also added new pieces of equipment that include a mammography unit, magnetic resonance imaging and updates to operating rooms.
Chris Ryan, chief information officer for AMH, said the hospital is working closely with Cisco to build an infrastructure that will help provide better quality care for the patients.
These programs can help connect AMH to other facilities like rural clinics in surrounding communities or larger hospitals, both Ryan and Cheeseman-Layton said.
“These days, the technology is so sophisticated. You can have a doctor ... making a diagnosis over a video screen,” Ryan said.
And with initiatives to improve health care technology coming form the federal level, Cheeseman-Layton said demand for these technologies are already high, and getting higher.
“The possibilities are endless,” Cheeseman-Layton said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
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