PACU Patients at Bayhealth have New Way to Connect
Thursday, January 28, 2021
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COVID-19
As a regional healthcare leader, Bayhealth empowers its team members to find innovative ways to improve the patient experience across our healthcare system. Driven to give surgical patients the best recovery experience possible, our teams in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus, and the Information Technology (IT) department collaborated to get iPads into the hands of patients. With visitor restrictions in place, PACU patients needed a way to connect with family and have an entertainment option.
With a call to IT, Administrative Assistance Tamaka Brown, expressed some of the challenges that PACU Coordinator Gifty Boateng wanted to overcome quickly. Computer Deployment Analyst Marvin Brittingham worked with his colleagues behind the scenes to find a solution. Thanks to grant funds secured through the Bayhealth Foundation, iPads were readily available and could be used to meet the patient need.
“With visitor restrictions in place, we needed a way to connect patients with their families and friends,” explained Registered Nurse Kevin Forsyth. “Connectivity is important to their recovery.”
One of Forsyth’s patients, Dover resident Bill Spanarelli, was the first to get his hands on an iPad. Using an app like FaceTime allowed Spanarelli to connect with his wife and son. He said talking to someone over the phone just isn’t the same as being able to see them. With FaceTime, his wife was able to see that he was indeed recovering well.
“For IT, we’re not always on the front lines. We are behind the scenes but are working and striving to make sure our patients have the best experience, and that patient satisfaction is at an all-time high,” said Brittingham.
Thanks to grant funding, Bayhealth will soon make iPads accessible to all patients at the Kent and Sussex Campuses to further enhance the patient experience. “At Bayhealth, we’re all driven to meet patient needs,” said Bayhealth Foundation President Lindsay Rhodenbaugh. “It’s the Foundation’s goal to help donors allocate their donations to a cause that’s meaningful to them.”
Visit BayhealthFoundation.org to learn how your donation can make a direct impact on the lives of our patients.
With a call to IT, Administrative Assistance Tamaka Brown, expressed some of the challenges that PACU Coordinator Gifty Boateng wanted to overcome quickly. Computer Deployment Analyst Marvin Brittingham worked with his colleagues behind the scenes to find a solution. Thanks to grant funds secured through the Bayhealth Foundation, iPads were readily available and could be used to meet the patient need.
“With visitor restrictions in place, we needed a way to connect patients with their families and friends,” explained Registered Nurse Kevin Forsyth. “Connectivity is important to their recovery.”
One of Forsyth’s patients, Dover resident Bill Spanarelli, was the first to get his hands on an iPad. Using an app like FaceTime allowed Spanarelli to connect with his wife and son. He said talking to someone over the phone just isn’t the same as being able to see them. With FaceTime, his wife was able to see that he was indeed recovering well.
“For IT, we’re not always on the front lines. We are behind the scenes but are working and striving to make sure our patients have the best experience, and that patient satisfaction is at an all-time high,” said Brittingham.
Thanks to grant funding, Bayhealth will soon make iPads accessible to all patients at the Kent and Sussex Campuses to further enhance the patient experience. “At Bayhealth, we’re all driven to meet patient needs,” said Bayhealth Foundation President Lindsay Rhodenbaugh. “It’s the Foundation’s goal to help donors allocate their donations to a cause that’s meaningful to them.”
Visit BayhealthFoundation.org to learn how your donation can make a direct impact on the lives of our patients.