WiMeds put cart before the patient

Wireless medication carts bring personalized care right to patient’s bedside

Story by Kerri Robins; photos courtesy Pamela Rockerbie

CALGARY — Workplace mobility is the wave of the future, adding speed, efficiency and safety to the job — and hospital staff are making strides with the use of mobile workstations.

Wireless medication carts — WiMed carts, for short — are customized for individual patients and come equipped with a computer and wireless access to internal and external websites. Each cart stores hospital supplies and medications, as well as a vital signs monitor that monitors, among other things, blood pressure and heart rate.

“Having a computer at each cart is really handy because we can look at patient medical charts, lab results and access and track patient progress right at their bedside — which gives us more time with the patient to answer questions about their treatment or the medication they’re on,” says Tatiana Westra, licensed practical nurse at Chinook Regional Hospital.

Thanks to a donation of nearly $330,000 from the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation, the hospital was able to supplement the purchase of 46 WiMed carts and 33 vital signs monitors on five units at the hospital.

“The patient benefits from this new system because of the improved method of storing, transporting and administering medication to them,” says Bev Saylor, Manager Acute Care at the hospital.

The carts offer an enhanced bedside medication delivery system — meaning all medication is dispensed at the pharmacy, loaded into the cart and delivered to the unit in drawers that can only be opened with a special access code, and lock after two minutes of being opened.

“This is ideal for the patient because now medications are patient-specific and locked in individual drawers,” says Saylor. “It provides a more secure and protected environment.”

Jason Vandenhoek, Executive Director of the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation, is pleased with the benefits offered by the carts.

“It’s exciting to be part of technological advancements in health care,” says Vandenhoek. “Helping medical staff do their job more efficiently with improved tools is important in delivering quality health care and we’re proud to help make that happen.”

For more information, please visit crhfoundation.ca