Telemetry labs, aka continuous monitoring labs, help overburdened medical staff spend time on face-to-face patient care.

Even before COVID-19 took a stranglehold on U.S. medical resources, many hospitals and healthcare facilities recognized the benefits of having an on-site (or off-site) continuous monitoring lab.

So, what is a Continuous Monitoring Lab?

Continuous monitoring labs, aka telemetry labs, are remote labs in which trained medical personnel conduct real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, including (ECG) readings, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. Relieving nurses of this burden, which they have traditionally performed during their daily rounds, lets them spend more quality time on face-to-face care—helping to improve the level of patient care and reduce nurse burnout.  

As the need for continuous monitoring grows, along with the sheer number of patients that nurses must care for, so too goes the demand for well-designed telemetry labs that deliver comfort, productivity, and long-term return on investment in your healthcare organization.

So how much does it cost to procure a telemetry desk that will support your patient care team while they do the mission-critical work of saving lives? Read on for answers to this and your other cost questions surrounding telemetry workstations.

What were they thinking having the RSNA show in late November, on Thanksgiving weekend, and in Chicago? It might seem a bit strange, but the event organizers do this every year!

While the weather was beautiful last year, other years have been extremely cold and snowy. I know firsthand all about Chicago’s brisk weather because I was born and raised here, and I just moved back. Let's just say, you never know what you are going to get. It was so cold one year that the frigid weather created a sculpture of ice right off of the lake. Another year it was so windy and cold that the toll booth guy tore off the gate after it wasn’t working properly.

If your control room is finally being renovated or you have a brand new control room on the horizon, there are a TON of items to get in order. It can be difficult knowing what to tackle first. The furniture of the control room is clearly a huge element of the project, but with all of the moving parts you need to address, when should you start planning for the furniture?

The answer is NOW!

Whether you’re planning a new control room or revamping your current one, you understandably want the end result to work well for your people. In fact, you probably want them to love it. The goal is obvious, but how do you make sure you get there?

Maybe you just started in your new role, or maybe you have been with the same company for a long time. Either way, when it’s time to update the command and control center, it’s time. You know it, and your operators also know it. Providing a comfortable, ergonomic environment for your people is the right thing to do. 

It’s important to start with your mindset. Is the purchase of new consoles a cost or an investment? If it is a cost, that will be tricky to justify. I can just hear management say that they already have desks that work, so why would they spend money on that? Instead, try to think of it of as an investment for your people. A more comfortable environment improves the health and performance of your team, which can surely lead to a ROI.

If you’re advocating that new consoles or workstations are an investment for your people, here are some important factors that will help make your case:

 via GIPHY

 Whether you are managing the buses 

This time of year, many organizations are planning to remodel, upgrade or build a new command center. If this is happening for you, the amount of decisions you need to make for success of the project can seem enormous. One of the decisions may include new consoles, desks and furniture for the project. Now is the time to go for it! The budget approval for your new consoles may be relatively small as compared to the million dollar or so project at hand, but, how it can help your operator’s daily lives is huge.

As Chief, Supervisor or Head Operator of a Command Center, you want your people to bring their "A Game" everyday. So, what can you do on a daily basis to make a difference for your people and improve their performance? The April edition of SUCCESS magazine, in an article titled, “The ROI of Compassion,” leadership guru John C. Maxwell sums it up:

Let's be honest, if you are in the Command and Control industry, you pride yourself in organization, optimization, effectiveness and efficiencies. Like the grease to the wheel, you like organization and to keep things working at their best. The placement of command center workstations in a control room should be just as important for the optimal performance of your operators. Having miss-used space or disorganization can cause the efficiency and effectiveness of the team to dwindle.

Smart Grid is on everyone’s mind in the utilities industry. How do we make the grid more reliable, safe, and efficient? It may seem like a new term yet it has been in the making for over 10 years. In 2007 Congress passed and the President approved the EISA (Title XIII of the Energy Independence and Security Act). This gave leadership to the Department of Energy to drive grid modernization. So, what is a smart grid? Some definitions are: