“It is critical that staff respond immediately when a call for
help comes and that they know exactly where the person
in distress is. No unnecessary guesses, no delays.”
- Dr. Thomas Hickey, Executive Director for the Lasting Hope Recovery Center

Situation
Opened in 2008, the Lasting Hope Recovery Center is a place of healing and hope
for those affected by mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorders. The
64-bed, public-private center is operated by the Alegent Health Bergan Mercy Medical
Center and receives the critical funding for operations from the State of Nebraska.
A core goal during the design of this new facility was creating a warm and healing
environment, while ensuring patient and staff safety, and therefore allow personnel to
better assist patients on their road to recovery. Having a method to automatically route
requests for assistance to the appropriate staff in a reliable yet nonintrusive manner was
critical. Lasting Hope decided to leverage the latest in technology to protect staff and
patients from the risks that come from uncontrolled behavior and allow for immediate
intervention. “In an environment like ours, it is not unusual for the personnel to confront
patients or their visitors who, due to the substance abuse or emotional instability, are
unable to control their behaviors and become dangerous to themselves or others,”
explains Dr. Thomas Hickey, Executive Director at the Lasting Hope Recovery Center.
“I’ve worked in other healthcare facilities where an overhead paging system was used
as their staff duress system. That type of communication was very disruptive not only
for the staff, but especially for the recovering patients. It was also ineffective at times
because someone had to notice there was a problem to initiate the alert.”

Solution
The choice of the Intelligent InSites Visibility Platform™ was very straightforward as it
delivered on all of the Lasting Hope’s patient and staff safety needs. The deployment
of the wireless locating and alerting system was also an integral part of the Lasting
Hope Recovery Center’s risk management plan, which enforced specific processes
and procedures to remain in place to ensure a safe environment. The solution
combines leading location-sensing devices and web-based software
to deliver the highest level of safety to sta and patients. It provides significant
improvements over the noisy and obstructive overhead paging systems of the past
and proves its e ectiveness as a sta duress system. Now, if sta members feel they
are in a dangerous situation, they simply push a button on their lapel, which sends an
immediate message with their exact location. The system, which includes configurable
rules, sends the alert to those that require notification, and, if necessary, automatically
escalates the alert until help is delivered. This way only those that need to know about the
issue are being informed, allowing una ected patients and sta to continue their daily
routines without any interruptions, and maintaining a calmer environment. In addition
to sta and patient safety, the InSites solution can be utilized for a variety of other
purposes as well, including sta communication, asset and inventory management,
reporting and analytics, or task coordination and documentation. The system can be
integrated with the existing clinical software, enabling sta to immediately access a
patient’s information or history through a web browser or mobile devices.

Benefits
The primary benefit the Lasting Hope Recovery Center experienced while using the
Intelligent InSites Platform is a confidence that the safety mechanisms are in place if any
critical situation occurs. “The InSites solution provides the best method for healthcare
providers to quickly and e ectively respond to alerts which ensures safety of our sta
and patients. Our sta feels more secure as they care for patients, because they know
that if they need help, sta responders will be notified immediately,” explains Dr. Hickey.
According to Dr. Hickey, the InSites solution is also an indispensible recruiting tool, as
it helps to attest how serious the management of the Lasting Hope Recovery Center
is about personnel’s safety. “Our sta appreciates that we provide a work environment
in which they can do their job in a safe manner. That gives newly hired employees who
otherwise would be a little bit anxious, a comfort level they need,” adds Dr. Hickey.
Additionally, thanks to this advanced system, the facility was able to avoid the noise and
obtrusiveness that often comes with other duress systems. The InSites solution allows
Lasting Hope Recovery Center to create a safe and caring environment, reaching a
key goal of their patients, their families, sta , and donors. “We cannot even imagine
operating without a real-time location system,” points out Dr. Hickey. “The benefit s
of the InSites solution are enormous and it is definitely a great investment ,”
Dr. Hickey concluded.