In the United States, more than 70% of all workplace assaults occur in the healthcare setting.1 Workplace violence is taking an increasing toll on hospitals and their staff in terms of injury, morale, cost, and reputation.
“Seconds count in a life-threatening situation and accurate location is essential to ensure immediate, effective response,” says Teresa Brasac, PhD, APRN, Chief Clinical and Informatics Officer, with Sonitor® Technologies, Inc. “Over 40% of nurses report an increase in physical violence and nearly 70% report an increase in verbal violence since 20202. Real Time Location systems (RTLS) with room and bay level accuracy can help to save a life or prevent serious injury.”
Sonitor’s SenseSafe™ solution, based on ultrasound technology, consistently delivers accurate and reliable location data, and provides the exact location of a staff member upon pressing a wearable duress button. The technology eliminates the possibility of responders looking for the staff member in distress on the wrong room or floor as can occur with the signal hopping characteristics of radio-based technologies. Sonitor’s SmartSafe™ wearable tags are designed to deliver a message every 2 seconds when a duress alarm is triggered by a button press and continue alarming until disarmed. The tags are embedded with the logic to identify their location, and to communicate over the facility’s Wi-Fi network within 1-3 seconds of when they move to a new location.
“Hospital leaders should carefully consider RTLS duress solutions that provide the most accurate location to protect their staff,” Dr. Brasac states. “For over 20 years, Sonitor has led the industry in developing and commercializing ultrasound based RTLS for healthcare. Our technology is installed in over 300 healthcare facilities around the world with over 1.5 million people and medical assets tagged. We understand the challenges faced by healthcare executives today and we partner with our customers to provide outcome driven solutions.”