Orchard Park Rehabilitation & Healthcare Case Study

The Challenge

To achieve its mission of providing excellent care to its patients, Orchard Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare, a premier skilled nursing facility in Orem, UT, sought to speed up its response time. With 59 patients in residence, the nursing staff was constantly on the run and wanted to improve their efficiency.

When Orchard Park had the opportunity to upgrade its facility with the assistance of state funds, they immediately knew what they wanted to do—purchase both a new call button system that would enable them to respond faster to patients while simultaneously upgrading their telephone system. What they didn’t know at the time was that they could actually integrate the two systems together.

The Solution

Orchard Park turned to Selectric, a systems technology integrator from Linden, UT who joined forces with Hello Communications, an authorized Panasonic dealer. “Our initial meeting with the Orchard Park staff was only supposed to last a short time, but when we demonstrated the capabilities of this integrated system, their team was so impressed that we spent hours brainstorming potential applications,” explained Von Gordon, owner of Hello Communications. Selectric and Hello jointly developed a solution that connected patients’ telephones to the wireless nurse call system.

In the spring of 2010, the facility installed approximately 50 Panasonic KX-DT321 telephones, with 32 placed in rooms and the remainder in the administrative offices. The hub of the phone system is the Panasonic KX-TDE600 Converged IP-PBX, combined with the Poltys Direct Care Connect Application, which is designed to help healthcare organizations manage communications and works with Panasonic PBX systems.
Additionally, all nurses and nurse’s aides were equipped with a KX-TD7696 ruggedized, splash-resistant wireless handset which basically lets them carry their extension number with them anywhere in the building. This solved a number of problems: Prior to carrying the cordless handsets, nurses or nurse’s aides would have to visit a patient’s room in response to call button alert without knowing what the problem was. If a patient needed medication, the nurse or aide would then have to walk back to the nurse’s station to retrieve it. Nurse’s aides, who aren’t allowed to dispense medicine, would often have to track down a nurse if one wasn’t nearby to assist. The process was inefficient, time consuming and required lots of walking, not to mention it kept the patient waiting.

Now, when a patient hits the call button, it automatically rings a cordless handset. The nurse can speak with the patient to find out what the problem is. If the patient needs medicine, the nurse goes directly to the nurse’s station to retrieve it without first visiting the patient’s room. If a nurse’s aide fields the call and medicine is required, they use the wireless handset to locate and inform a nurse who retrieves the medicine and visits the patient directly. The ability to immediately communicate with the patient and with each other from anywhere in the building has been a huge time saver for the medical staff and ensures patients receive more timely care.

The flexible architecture built in to the TDE600 is what lets everything work together. Hello Communications installers were able to easily sync the system with the call-button system. Additionally, the Panasonic system accommodated a PRI line. This, combined with the large number of extensions available with the TDE600, allowed Orchard Park to scrap their old system which saw 60 individual lines coming into the building. Now every room in the facility can have up to 3 DID (direct inward dialing) numbers even though Orchard Park only pays for a single PRI line. The result was a whopping $1,500 in savings on their monthly phone bill.

“This was a brilliant solution,” said Jared Swain, Orchard Park Administrator. “We now have a way to conduct two-way communications with some of our residents and patients which increases the efficiency of our care staff. The new updated telephone system also delivers better quality while saving us thousands of dollars on our phone bill.” Gordon adds, “It’s been gratifying to help them achieve their goal of better servicing their patients and improving overall communications while saving money, too.”


Customer Information:
Orchard Park is the premier skilled nursing facility in Orem, Utah. They provide compassionate and personal 24-hour skilled care and rehabilitation services in a comfortable and friendly environment.
At Orchard Park, caring is their main concern. They believe the most effective way to provide compassionate care is to maintain high medical integrity, build a team spirit among staff and provide friendly, beautiful surroundings for their patients and visitors. Although most transitions can be challenging, they strive to facilitate that process with an environment where patients and guests feel informed and comfortable.
Their team of qualified professionals helps patients recover from surgery, injury or serious illness. They understand the importance of creating a comfortable and nurturing atmosphere, whether providing patients with short-term treatment or long term care.