GE Healthcare and Sprint Deliver Enhanced Wireless Connectivity to Hospitals Across North America
Patients, Visitors and Care Providers Benefit from Secure, Reliable Voice and Data Communications
WAUKESHA, WI, and Reston, VA, August 14, 2007 ― Uninterrupted communication within a hospital is a
requirement for physicians, patients and visitors and is essential to quality
care. Sprint (NYSE: S) and GE Healthcare
announced today their collaboration to provide in-building wireless
communications services to hospitals in
Historically,
the use of mobile phones in hospitals has been limited due to unreliable
wireless support and the risk of interference between wireless phones and
medical equipment. Using the new combined offering, physicians and caregivers
will be able to communicate amongst each other and securely access patient
information from almost anywhere in the facility.
The new
in-building cellular communications network from GE Healthcare and Sprint’s
Custom Network Solution (CNS) team leverages GE’s CARESCAPE™ Enterprise Access™,
a single, universal wireless platform powered by MobileAccess, and includes
Sprint handsets. This solution will
provide hospitals with a comprehensive platform for voice and data
communications over secure cellular, Wi-Fi and telemetry infrastructure that
requires only one installation. Using the combined offering, clinicians,
patients and hospital visitors can communicate more efficiently and with ease.
“Sprint CNS provides scalable
coverage and a high-capacity platform for wireless voice and data services on
the Sprint National Network and Nextel National Network, enhancing the mobility
and productivity of staff at hospitals and other businesses,” says Darlene
Braunschweig, vice president of CNS at Sprint. “We are very excited to partner
with GE Healthcare to provide differentiated and innovative mobile solutions
that are critical for every business. This new solution facilitates constant
communication of secure information amongst hospital staff; an aspect very
critical to patient care.”
GE
CARESCAPE Enterprise Access, built on the MobileAccess technology platform, enables critical patient data to be securely coordinated,
managed and distributed without the type of communications failures,
interference or interruptions that can be caused by un-integrated systems. It is designed to transparently incorporate
new systems and services without the need to install parallel, standalone infrastructures.
CARESCAPE Enterprise Access is part of GE Healthcare’s CARESCAPE portfolio, an integrated suite of patient monitoring devices, communications
networks and IT systems designed to transform traditional patient monitoring
data into clinical intelligence. The CARESCAPE portfolio, released in May 2007,
reflects a new approach to patient monitoring that provides clinicians with the opportunity
to act earlier in the care process when compared to traditional patient
monitoring and communication methods.
“The CARESCAPE portfolio represents our commitment to
providing customers with a wide range of products and services that work
together to help clinicians improve patient care,” said Munesh Makhija, General
Manager of Systems and Wireless for GE Healthcare’s
Monitoring Solutions business. “Our agreement with Sprint reflects this commitment. By harnessing
the power of in-building cellular communications, hospitals will be able to
offer secure, reliable voice and data communications throughout a campus, which
can support improved communication and ultimately, patient outcomes.”
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical
technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our
expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics,
patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery and
biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the
world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor
disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.
GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services
enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease,
neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future
is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier
diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention.
Headquartered in the
ABOUT SPRINT
NEXTEL
Sprint CNS is a
leader in providing enhanced in-building and campus-wide network consulting,
integration and fixed mobile convergence solutions. Sprint designs, deploys and
maintains wireless networks and mobility solutions that deliver the
productivity and efficiency of voice and data communications to virtually
anywhere a business and their employees need them. Sprint’s CNS team offers
24/7 technical support and manages all
stages of the customer deployment process, from the initial requirements
assessment through installation and deployment with consultant-grade methods,
procedures and tools. For more information about Sprint CNS, please visit
www.sprint.com/cns.
Sprint Nextel
offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services
bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users.
Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying
innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks serving 54
million customers at the end of the second quarter 2007; industry-leading
mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie
capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information,
visit www.sprint.com.
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Contact:
Carrie
Michael
C:
262-501-2909
Sprint
Sukhi Sahni
703-592-7779