“Wandering Patients” at Less Risk, Thanks to November 50/50 Proceeds
Published Thursday, December 14, 2023
“Wandering Patients” at Less Risk, Thanks to November 50/50 Proceeds
Your Thunder Bay 50/50 Purchase Funds New Patient Safety System
by Graham Strong
Some inpatients at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre including people with dementia can be at risk of leaving their unit by accident. These “wandering patients” are in danger of becoming confused and disoriented, and are at a higher risk for falls and fractures.
“On average, we have one or two patients a week who are at risk of wandering,” said Meghan Hill, Manager of the 2B Inpatient Unit at our Hospital. “If they leave the unit without staff being aware, these patients are at higher risk for safety incidents.”
Thanks to your purchase of Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets, you are helping to reduce that risk significantly. Proceeds from the draw are helping purchase a new patient safety system that will allow staff to keep track of at-risk patients.
“We know that any patient has the risk and potential to wander, depending on their acute or chronic conditions,” Hill said. “This system is a safeguard for Hospital staff to be alerted and increase response times.”
Currently, inpatient units on 1A, 2A, and 2B have a wristband system that sets off an alarm if a patient wearing it nears the unit doors. However, the system is old and nearing end of life. Not only will the new system replace the ageing one, it offers a number of upgrades.
“We’re in the RFP stage, so we’re evaluating different systems,” said Ryan Sears, Director of Capital & Facility Services at our Hospital. “We do know that it will be a real-time location system or RTLS, which allows better tracking and more flexibility.”
An RTLS system works differently than the current system, which only sets off alarms when a patient gets close to an exit point. The RTLS system on the other hand is similar to WiFi, except that it’s a dedicated network connecting only to the safety wristbands. It can locate those wristbands within a few feet anywhere inside the network. For example, if a patient wanders into another room on the same unit, they can still be found quickly – an advantage over the old system.
“It will help us locate wandering patients using something like GPS, even if they are beyond the walls of the unit,” Hill said.
The wristbands themselves will be upgraded as well to make them tamper proof. If the patient tries to pull or cut it off, another alarm will sound. Some systems even allow text messages to be sent to staff in the area so that they can locate wandering patients faster.
“These new systems allows patients to visit other parts of the Hospital with supervision such as Diagnostic Imaging,” Sears said.
A similar RTLS system will also be upgraded in the Maternal/Labour and Delivery unit as well as 1B Paediatrics. The whole network is scalable so that the RTLS zones can be expanded or new ones set up within our Hospital when necessary. The new safety system will likely be installed in early 2024.
Your purchase of Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets is making a difference to patient care every single month! No matter who wins the jackpot, we all win thanks to healthcare improvements such as this. You can help improve the safety for wandering patients too by buying a ticket to the November draw. Find out what this month’s jackpot is and buy your tickets at: thunderbay5050.ca
Jessica Waugh, a nurse on 2B, demonstrates the current wristband system. If this band gets near the keypad at left, located at the 2B doors, an alarm will sound.