Greater Baltimore Medical Center

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A suburban hospital streamlines emergency communications and meets Joint Commission emergency management requirements with the 3n mass notification system

Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), a 292-bed medical center in suburban Baltimore County, serves nearly 22,000 inpatients and provides approximately 60,000 emergency room visits annually. GBMC was recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s 2006 “America’s Best Hospitals” listing as one of the Top 50 hospitals for cancer care and has previously been ranked eight other times for cancer care, digestive disorders, gynecology, and otolaryngology.

Challenges

GBMC relied on outdated call trees and lists to coordinate both routine and emergency communications. With short-notice or no-notice Joint Commission visits, the possibility of pandemic flu outbreaks, and the Center’s proximity to two recognized terrorism targets—Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Army Garrison Aberdeen Proving Ground—administrators realized the pressing need for a quicker, more efficient communication system. GBMC faced several key challenges with its existing callback system:

• Lack of a centralized repository for staff contact information. GBMC relied on department-centric call trees for both emergency and routine communications. Each department had its own method for maintaining numbers, from Excel spreadsheets to Word documents. Operators were continually overloaded with requests for contact information. In addition, staff members used a variety of pagers, cell phones, and other devices, further complicating communications in an emergency.
• Challenges complying with Joint Commission requirements. Using manual methods, calling executives for emergency conference calls and performing callbacks was extremely time consuming and difficult. In addition, reporting capabilities with the existing system were almost nonexistent, further complicating communications in an emergency.
• Proximity to recognized terrorist targets. Maintaining an emergency communications system onsite would have been a burden to IT staff. Further, if the building was inaccessible—a real possibility considering GBMC’s proximity to both Washington, D.C., and Aberdeen Proving Ground—an onsite system would rendered useless in an emergency.
• Difficulty handling staff shortages in an efficient manner. The need for extra staff—due to medical emergencies and shortages because of illness—presented a unique challenge. GBMC had no streamlined way of knowing who could work and when.

Solution

After stringently reviewing three callback systems, GBMC chose 3n for its routine and emergency communication needs. Administrators have been extremely pleased with 3n’s unparalleled customer service and ease of use. GBMC uses 3n’s InstaCom™ Hospital mass notification system for all its large-scale communication needs, from assembling executives for Joint Commission visits to staffing the emergency room during shortages to running decontamination team drills and preparing for communications during an avian flu outbreak.

“3n has completely revolutionized our response rate to emergencies. Executive feedback has been extremely positive. You need to sit in on one meeting when this response system is activated and watch the executives’ faces as every pager and cell phone in the room goes off simultaneously. We make one call, that’s it – wonderful.”
– Linda Henning, Telecommunications Manager

Results

• Improved emergency response capabilities. The 3n mass notification system streamlines GBMC’s response to emergency drills and satisfies Joint Commission emergency management compliance requirements. In addition, the 3n system allows GBMC to deliver comprehensive, audit-ready reports effortlessly.
• Ability to schedule extra personnel on short notice. The 3n mass notification system enables GBMC to quickly and efficiently determine who can work and when, ensuring a quick response to staff absences or medical emergencies.
• Enhanced daily communications. GBMC uses the 3n system on a daily basis for routine communications between a variety of groups—maintenance, executives, incident command, and decon teams. The 3n system has added so much value to day-to-day operations that administrators expanded usage to hospice staff coordination.
• No hardware or software to manage onsite. GBMC no longer has to worry about maintaining the safety and security of an onsite system. 3n maintains and upgrades hardware and software and ensures data continuity and safety.