The Benefits of Live Monitoring in Hospitals and Care Centers

centralized-vision-live-monitoring-patients-doctorLive monitoring of patients is quickly becoming an integral part of the health care industry. Though patient care is the primary concern of the staff at hospitals, nursing homes, and other care centers, there are many tasks that require staff members to take their attention elsewhere in the course of a day. Live monitoring systems are being implemented in novel ways to increase the quality of patient visits and assist the staff members dedicated to their care.

 

Protecting Patient Lives

The priority of hospitals and other care centers is, of course, the lives of their patients. Doctors, nurses, and other staff members must be vigilant at all times, especially when looking over multiple patients at one time. However, it’s unrealistic to expect one person to monitor several patients without dividing their attention, taking a moment to use the restroom, or performing other job tasks. That’s where the live monitoring services at Centralized Vision can help.

With trained technicians watching over the patients, it ensures that nothing is missed. Patients in need of immediate assistance may not always be able to communicate with their care-givers, but with someone watching, the message to help a particular patient can be sent immediately. For nursing homes and other care centers, dispatching EMT’s in a timely manner can be crucial. For patients already in the hospital, it’s simply a matter of alerting the staff members on duty. This article shows how one hospital was able to drastically reduce the amount of safety issues—including patients falling—with a live monitoring system.

 

General Security and Theft Deterrence

As with other places of business or residences, live monitoring is a great way to ensure the people and objects inside are secure. For a medical or care center, this can be doubly important, as the individuals inside are often sick or otherwise vulnerable. Proper placement of cameras on entrances and exits can ensure that anyone who isn’t a staff member, patient, or approved visitor cannot enter the facility and take advantage of someone who is unable to protect themselves.

In addition to the all-important patient lives that can be guarded with live-monitoring, there are valuable assets inside most care centers that need protection from criminals centralized-vision-live-monitoring-patients-medicineoutside. Expensive equipment is often housed in these facilities, as well as surgical tools and precious oxygen tanks. These resources are not only crucial to the lives of the patients inside, but they could be dangerous if taken into the wrong hands. Expensive medicine is often kept in these facilities as well; it’s equally important to ensure that patients receive their prescriptions and those pharmaceuticals are not stolen for other purposes. Live monitoring in a security capacity can help to safeguard these resources and make sure they are used for their intended purpose.

 

Building Management

Protecting equipment is not only an issue of theft—powerful machines such as those used in hospitals have to be working correctly at all times. Live monitoring of equipment is a great way to avoid costly repairs or emergency situations. Just a few hours without power could make a huge difference for patients relying on machines, and a well-trained eye ensures that all vital systems are functioning correctly and can be ficentralized-vision-live-monitoring-patients-exitxed quickly.

Turning cameras outward can be crucial for care centers as well. As we’ve written about before, natural disasters can wreak havoc on any building if those inside are not alerted in a timely manner. This damage could be compounded in a hospital or care center, with a high volume of already at-risk individuals inside. These could include pregnant women, the elderly, or those with highly contagious diseases. Not to mention, it often takes more time to evacuate a building such as a hospital, due to the state of incapacitation that many of the patients are in. Every second counts in an emergency, and a trained eye can ensure storms, fires, and other emergencies don’t take the care center unaware.

 

Avoiding Malpractice

It’s useful for all employers to keep an eye on their employees—just check out our article on that topic—but when the job being performed involves the care of human lives, it can be crucial to have an eye on staff performance. This can mean deterring internal theft of the valuable assets we already discussed, watching for signs of intentional abuse from care-givers, or simply catching the unintended mistakes that could cost a patient their life.

That’s not to say that doctors, nurses, and other patient care-givers are not already highly trained. It’s more about ensuring that proper protocols are followed for the safety of everyone. A pilot program at one hospital recently found that live monitoring the operating room during procedures helped decrease common errors and improve hygiene during the operations. It’s this sort of result that shows a second pair of eyes always helps when handling the lives of patients.

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CV’s virtual greeter service featured in HOA Advisors magazine

HOA-Advisors_winter2014-PhoenixThe upcoming winter issue of HOA Advisors magazine features an article about how the virtual greeter service provided by Centralized Vision can provide as-good or better security than on-site security personnel at a fraction of the cost.

Technology to the Rescue: Virtual Greeter 75% Less Expensive than On-site Security Officers

Keeping one’s community safe is of primary importance to any HOA. But the cost of hiring on-site security officers can eat up a huge chunk of association resources. Thankfully, new advancements in security systems technology can reduce costs significantly, without sacrificing quality of security.

Here’s a look at what you expect from a good security solution, and the way they are handled by a virtual vs. on-site security service:

  1. Control access – Automated gates can be circumvented by people who tailgate residents as they enter. But if the security officer is sitting at the gate all the time then they can’t be roaming the community on alert for other issues. Centralized monitoring allows the virtual security officer to be everywhere at once – greeting residents vocally at the gate one moment and keeping an eye on a landscaper across the community in the next moment. License plate recording keeps track of who goes in and out.
  1. Recognize residents vs. strangers – A security officer may or may not get out of their car to meet and get to know residents. Facial recognition software and resident database management makes it possible for virtual security technicians to know who’s who and act accordingly.
  1. Monitor visitors such as vendors and landscapers – An on-site security officer can only be in one place at a time, whereas a virtual security technician has access to all community common areas at once.
  1. Detect suspicious activity and intervene – If the on-site officer happens by when suspicious or criminal activity occurs, he can intervene. With real-time remote camera monitoring, suspicious persons are easier to spot and law enforcement authorities can be notified immediately to intervene and pursue suspects.
  1. Keep an eye on your community at all times – Virtual safety-certified technicians are on-call 24/7/365, at one-quarter of the cost of the same availability by an on-site security officer.

With access to cameras, audio speakers, and the residential database live in real-time, virtual security technicians can be proactive, rather than reactive, and provide a level of service that would normally necessitate hiring a full-time on-site security officer.

If your association doesn’t have a budget to support an on-site security officer, or if you have one but would like to use a lot of that money for other projects, a real-time camera monitoring system may be the cost-effective solution you need.

Centralized Vision Offers Pro-Active Video Managed Services at Iconic Class A Facility in Tempe

By Tom Vigilante, Jr.

You may have heard the recent news coverage about the 2 million-square-foot Marina Heights office development just north of Sun Devil Stadium on the banks of Tempe Town Lake that will house State Farm’s regional headquarters.

Construction started this month on the Class A office space that will also include a minimum of 40,000 square feet of service retail and 8,500 parking stalls. Marina Heights’ first building is scheduled to be occupied by mid 2015, and the entire project is projected to be completed in 2017.

Just west of Marina Heights is Hayden Ferry Lakeside, a master-planned mixed-use project on 43 acres that created the blueprint for development along the south shore of Tempe Town Lake and downtown Tempe. Hayden Ferry Lakeside has been an iconic staple of economic development in Tempe for more than 10 years.

Centralized Vision has provided video managed services at Hayden Ferry Lakeside over the past two years through a contract with the property’s owner, Parkway Realty Services, to ensure safety throughout the development. We monitor a combination of 30 fixed and pan-tilt-zoom cameras throughout the property’s two office towers and eight-level parking garage, including elevators in the parking garage. Additionally, we also monitor the grounds surrounding Hayden Ferry Lakeside, including retail space and the newly-constructed fitness center, to help prevent trespassers, car theft, misuse of elevators and unauthorized after hours lobby access.

Centralized Vision offers Hayden Ferry Lakeside the ability to make their security cameras pro-active. By having our techs actively engaging their environments through their camera systems, we can fulfill any desire they may task us with at any time of the day. We also provide Hayden Ferry Lakeside the luxury of our Virtual Guard services, which are also used at other Class A properties we monitor. Our Virtual Guard services include one or two-way audio speaker communication, gate access control and greeter services conducted through two-way phone lines and call boxes. Virtual Guard also is used to visually escort employees from their offices to the parking garage safely in after hours situations.

As developments like Hayden Ferry Lakeside and Marina Heights consume more square footage and drive additional consumer traffic to their sites, it is important that they consider cost-effective solutions like Centralized Vision to ensure safe and secure business and retail environments.

Businesses Investing Into Security Camera Monitoring Can Save Money on Insurance Premiums

By Tami Vigilante

As small-business owners, my husband, Tom, and I are always looking at efficient ways to run our company. Whether it is eliminating unneeded expenses or shifting dollars from one area to another, we look at various ways to be efficient and grow our business at the same time.

The services we offer at Centralized Vision can save other businesses money as well.

Investing into a camera surveillance system and video monitoring from Centralized Vision could pay for itself in the form of decreased insurance premiums. Many insurance companies will discount company’s premiums from 10 to 20 percent when CCTV security cameras are in place to provide added safety on the property.

Why would insurance companies discount premiums for a company that has camera surveillance and monitoring?

• Having video cameras in plain sight throughout the property and Centralized Vision-branded signs that warn people they are being monitored is enough to act as a deterrent to warn criminals from attempting anything illegal.
• If a crime does occur, our technicians monitoring the property 24 hours a day can dispatch law enforcement officials to possibly stop the criminal act in process and provide photo or video evidence that could be used to convict the suspect in court.
• Having a video monitoring service available to provide evidence for employees filing false worker’s compensation insurance claims could be very beneficial for small-business owners.

Affordability is one our company’s core principles. Protecting a valuable asset is not an expensive investment because we use the latest in security technology from a centralized location to provide affordable pricing options that fit into any company’s budget.

Businesses with monitoring of a camera surveillance system will not only be able to protect themselves from criminal activity on their property, they will also be able to run a more efficient business due to decreased insurance costs.

Tami Vigilante is Executive Vice President & Co-Founder at Centralized Vision, which has offices in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094.

Music Awakening Seniors Suffering From Cognitive Disorders

By Tami Vigilante

A growing part of our business at Centralized Vision is real-time GPS monitoring and tracking. We can easily keep track of low-level criminals or locate a fleet of transportation vehicles by having our team of 24-hour support technicians monitor GPS tracking devices anywhere around the world.

But a significant portion of our GPS monitoring business has nothing to do with criminal activity.

Many of our GPS monitoring clients are assisted-living facilities that house seniors afflicted with cognitive disorders, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Because people may suffer memory loss or be disoriented, having those that suffer from either of the disorders wear a GPS bracelet allows our company to locate them if they wander away from the facility.

Currently, there are more than a million people with dementia or Alzheimer’s living in assisted-living facilities throughout the country. Centralized Vision adds another level of security and safety to protect loved ones living in such facilities. But there are other organizations that offer various therapeutic options to improve the quality of life for people spending the remainder of their lives in these facilities.

One of those organizations improving the quality of life of seniors afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer’s is Music & Memory. Started by social worker Daniel Cohen six years ago, Music & Memory’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the elderly suffering from cognitive disorders through the use of personalized music and digital technology.

I learned about Music & Memory when the organization was featured on an episode of “The Doctors” recently. On the show, they told the story of an older gentleman named Henry living in an assisted-living facility and being unresponsive to most things because of dementia. He didn’t recognize family members and sat in a daze most of the time. However, when he was given an iPod with his favorite songs to listen to, Henry came alive. It broke my heart to hear him talk about his favorite singer Cab Calloway and to hear him sing a few lines from Bing Crosby’s 1943 classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

The therapy Music & Memory provides helps seniors suffering from cognitive disorders remember who they are and helps reacquire their identity after listening to their favorite music on an iPod. You can help the non-profit organization allow seniors to relive their younger years by donating a used iPod or giving as little as $49 to assist them in purchasing new iPod Shuffles. Log on to www.musicandmemory.org to learn more about how to donate used iPods or purchase new ones and to watch the video segment from the recent episode of “The Doctors.”

Keeping seniors living in assisted-living facilities safe and secure is important. But making sure those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s have an improved quality of life is something we all can contribute to.

Tami Vigilante is Executive Vice President & Co-Founder at Centralized Vision. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094.

Mission

Centralized Vision was created to supply customers with a solution to accentuate the purchase of a camera surveillance system. With safety as our priority, our technicians and operators are online twenty-four-seven and are dedicated to observing your environment. Centralized Vision is committed to balancing a competent, compassionate and professional attitude while maintaining an unmatched standard of excellence.

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Centralized Vision is a leading company that offers real-time verification services and personal GPS monitoring to provide safety and security for companies and families throughout the world.

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