SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jan. 26, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SkylightHealthcare Systems®, the leading provider of interactive patient care systems, announced the launch of Skylight ACCESS at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, CA. The 186-bed medical center is part of the St. Joseph Health System whose facilities include 14 acute care hospitals, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, community clinics, and physician organizations. The Skylight ACCESS system provides patients with customized health information, education and interactive services – all at the bedside.
Utilizing Skylight ACCESS, hospitals throughout the country have been able to show improved patient satisfaction, HCAHPS scores and compliance with Joint Commission requirements. Additional metrics have been documented showing improvements in nursing and physician satisfaction, cost savings, health education delivery, and overall service excellence. With ACCESS, hospitals have dramatically improved the overall patient experience while enhancing the entire patient care continuum for health care professionals, patients, and their families.
St. Mary Medical Center is committed to their core values of hospitality, dignity, justice, service and excellence. By launching the Skylight system, St. Mary Medical Center will be able to extend those core values by increasing the time clinicians spend providing direct patient care and improve the effectiveness of patient education efforts. Combining the clinical quality and compassionate care at St. Mary Medical Center with the latest in-room technology will empower patients to play a role in their own care and encourage positive collaboration between patients and caregivers.
Through the launch of the Skylight ACCESS system, St. Mary Medical Center patients will now have direct access to patient and condition-specific health information, connection to patient support departments and a real-time feedback forum that allows St. Mary Medical Center to solicit patient feedback and provide immediate service recovery to address patient issues. Patients will also enjoy first-class entertainment options including popular movies, music and games.
"Every day we strive to improve the health and quality of life for people in Apple Valley, CA and its surrounding communities. When people walk through our doors we want them to see our core values hard at work. We want them to see excellence in our facilities, our service and our people," commented Randy Bevilacqua, St. Mary's Vice President of Marketing and Communications. "We feel the Skylight ACCESS Interactive Patient System is an extension of our values and will engage our patients and increase both patient and staff satisfaction."
"We embrace St. Mary's dedication to community involvement and share their commitment to providing the optimal in-room patient experience with the highest quality healthcare services available," said David Schofield, President and CEO of Skylight. "By providing a continuum of care for patients, their families, and clinical professionals, we support their efforts to ensure access for patients to all aspects of healthcare delivery, improve efficiencies and assure additional resources to meet the ever-expanding medical needs of the Victor Valley region."
About St. Mary Medical Center
St. Mary Medical Center Apple Valley offers a range of services from wellness and prevention programs such as diabetes education to an emergency department and heart care services including the only open heart surgery program in the High Desert. For over 50 years, this High Desert hospital has grown and continues to plan for the future progressing from a small hospital in 1956 to the comprehensive, 186-bed medical center it is today. St. Mary Medical Center's dedication to serving the Victor Valley has remained intrinsic to its core values of Hospitality, Dignity, Justice, Service, and Excellence.
About Skylight Healthcare Systems
Skylight® Healthcare Systems is the industry pioneer and leader in interactive patient care technology. With patient communication as the cornerstone of a safe, comfortable and clinically optimal hospital experience, the Skylight ACCESS® Interactive Patient System encourages patient and family to actively participate in their health care, improves communication between staff and patient/family members, and can provide a smoother and faster recovery and discharge plan. Skylight's vision is to provide hospitals with a robust tool which will allow them to greatly enhance interactive communication along the entire patient care continuum. In nearly 15,000 installed locations, leading hospital administrators have confidently selected Skylight Healthcare Systems as the proven choice for their interactive patient care technology. Skylight Healthcare Systems is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information about Skylight Healthcare Systems, please visit: www.skylight.com.
The Skylight Healthcare Systems logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4652