State-of-the-art call bell system is being installed at St. Mary Medical Center

Across St. Mary Medical Center, the nurse call bell system is being upgraded to ensure timely care and patient satisfaction.

The state-of-the-art system by Rauland, expected to be fully installed in various units by October 2025, allows nurses, aides and other colleagues to instantly know what a patient needs and where they are located, all thanks to designated buttons and color-coded signals.

On a large bedside remote, patients can select the “toilet” button, which flashes a green light outside their room if they need assistance using the bathroom, or the “pain” button, which shows a pink light if they require pain medication.

Previously, there was only one button and one corresponding color—red—to alert the nurses, who had no way of knowing what a patient needed prior to entering the room. Now, if they see the pink light, they don’t have to first stop in the room to see why the patient called. Rather, they can immediately acquire the pain medication and bring it to the patient, saving time and granting the patient faster relief.

In addition to the remote, the upgraded system includes a small panel located in each patient room, offering numerous lifesaving functions. If there is an emergency, the nurse can tap the “Code 99” or “Rapid Response” buttons on the panel, which will alert the operator and save precious seconds.

If a nurse is in a patient’s room and needs assistance, especially during a night shift, they can hit the “Staff Assist” button, which will send an alert to the break room. Those on their break can then step in to help their colleague. There’s also an “Elopement” option that a nurse can press, alerting the operators if they walk in and discover that the patient is missing.

The upgraded system also makes the documentation process more streamlined. Any action the nurse takes in the room—whether it be turning a patient or completing an hourly round—is automatically entered into the patient’s medical record at the push of a button on the panel. If a follow-up action is needed, such as checking vital signs or giving pain medication, the nurse or aide can use the system to set a reminder, which will alert them on their work mobile phone at a designated time.

“Ensuring patient safety is a top priority for us at St. Mary Medical Center and nurse call systems play a vital role in helping us to make this a reality,” says Angel McCullough, chief nursing officer, St. Mary Medical Center. “We understand the complexity of the care being provided to our patients and how important it is for our patients’ safety and for their hospital experience that they are able to summon help timely. Our decision to make the investment to upgrade our nurse call system, which will integrate systems to optimize our workflow and improve patient outcomes, is one that will benefit our entire hospital community.”