New Technologies Enhance Nursing Care at Quarry Hill
Two years ago, the Gardens, Quarry Hill’s 39-bed short- and long-term nursing care community, became the first center of its kind in Maine to offer patients and residents the services of an on-site senior services physician. Today, the Gardens remains on the leading edge, with the introduction of technologies designed to make patients’ and residents’ day-to-day lives more comfortable, streamline care, and improve outcomes.
Commenting on the developments, Director of Nursing Nancy Marcille, RN, BSHA, points to a range of enhancements that includes new patient lifts and improved diagnostics as well as expanded wireless connectivity to the Internet:
Patient lifts
A new system of portable motors and ceiling tracks helps individuals with mobility challenges get out of bed and navigate hallways more safely and independently. Part of the Safe Patient- and Family-Centered Care initiative underway throughout Quarry Hill’s parent organization Pen Bay Healthcare, the system promotes dignity, speeds recovery, and reduces the risk of injury for patients, residents, and staff. Ultimately, Quarry Hill expects to offer the system in all Gardens rooms.
On-site diagnostics
Diagnostic equipment newly installed at Quarry Hill has meant fewer unnecessary trips to the hospital.
For example, EKGs, which measure electrical impulses in the heart, can now be performed at the Gardens under physicians’ orders, thus eliminating a hospital visit. What’s more, the results often allow doctors to rule out conditions that would require a lengthier inpatient stay.
Another new tool, the ultrasound bladder scanner, allows specially trained nurses to measure the amount of urine in a person’s bladder and, if necessary, take steps to relieve retention. Retention may lead to urinary tract infections that can be particularly dangerous for frail or elderly patients; and catheterization, previously used to prevent retention, is uncomfortable and can itself lead to infection.
Wireless access
Wireless web access, now available throughout the Gardens, not only enhances patients’ and residents’ day-to-day lives, but has surprising therapeutic benefits as well.
“Today, more and more of the people we serve are web-savvy,” says Marcille. “We’ve found that those who stay connected to friends, family, and the larger world tend to be happier and recover more quickly.”
