Case Study

Additional Wireless Access Points Needed for Lahey Health

Lahey Health uses a Philips Healthcare monitoring system. Lahey was having trouble with the wireless coverage they were getting for the system at their Burlington, MA location. The monitoring system has multiple functions:

• Patient monitoring is done via a device put on the patient. The data is available to the staff outside the patient’s room to allow for continuous monitoring.
• The device is also connected to a separate, secure network so that patient medical data can be uploaded.

The wireless coverage was frustrating to the staff.

Lahey, a long-time customer of KTS, reached out to find a solution to this issue.

The Work

The facility had wireless access points (WAPs) located in the hallways. Sometimes the signal would not extend into patient rooms and would interrupt the monitoring. Or an ambulatory patient would leave their room, and the signal would get interrupted as they moved about the floor.

KTS installed a new configuration for the wireless access points. We installed new state-of-the-art access points in patient rooms. We replaced the access points in the hallways with newer state-of-the-art access points and moved the location of some WAPs to provide better coverage.

Challenges

COVID-19 has presented many challenges. While KTS has been working in hospitals and healthcare facilities for decades, COVID-19 poses additional risks. Additional safety protocols were complied with to ensure the safety of the staff and patients at the facility, as well as our own team while on site. Our highly-trained technicians are certified professionals in our field and also have additional healthcare-specific certifications including HIPAA and state certification for public healthcare facilities.

Benefits/Impact

By designing a new configuration and installing/upgrading the access points to the newest state-of-the-art units, we were able to increase the coverage of the wireless network. This ensures that patient monitoring will be uninterrupted, allowing for better care and easier access to information. Reliable coverage also give staff peace of mind that patient health data will be uploaded more efficiently.

In addition, caring for COVID-19 patients is made more efficient when the wireless signal can share vital signs remotely. Medical staff can monitor vital signs without entering the patient’s room, which can reduce the amount of PPE being used by staff at a time when it can be scarce, as well as helping to limit staff exposure to the virus.