Introduction The Challenge

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1 Customer: Western Baptist Hospital Solution: Hearing aid integration with Ascom d62 handset. WESTERN BAPTIST HOSPITAL NEW FREEDOM IN COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED I really wish that more hospitals better understood the impact hearing loss has in work life. I hope that my personal story will help educate and offer support to people with hearing disabilities The Ascom phone enabled me to be 100% present and connected, just like anyone else. Deena Devane Social Worker, Western Baptist Hospital Introduction This case study describes how the Ascom IP-DECT d62 handset has vastly improved communications and work-life for Deena Devane. Deena is a Social Worker in the Case Management department at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky and a hearing aid wearer. She spends more than 50% of her working hours on the phone tracking down family members, verifying insurance, coordinating between different departments and providing referrals to outside post care medical facilities. Deena had long searched for an on-site wireless phone that could accommodate her demanding job and her special needs. The Challenge Deena was born with a bilateral hearing impairment, making it difficult to hear, especially when there is background noise which is very prevalent in a highly active hospital work environment. Deena is a self-motivated, efficient and high-energy person a real asset to her employer. She is not considered legally deaf but has a serious enough hearing disability to make it very challenging and difficult to hear in normal multi-person conversations. Over the years, Deena has become an expert lip reader. Deena did not feel that she required hearing aids until she started college and then it was to improve her hearing ability when attending classes in large lecture halls. Since her college years, she has researched and witnessed numerous technology shifts with hearing aid devices but still she has struggled to find an appropriate solution to combine her hearing aids with the telephones at work.

2 The Ascom IP-DECT System and d62 handset connects via Bluetooth to the Oticon Streamer hearing aid. Placing a telephone handset up to one s ear while a hearing aid is inserted will generally cause a high pitch tone as well as a very disturbing noise from the hearing aid itself. Unfortunately, the hearing aid must be removed each time from the ear before one can actually take a call. In Deena s case this means that she is required to remove and insert her over-the-ear hearing aid numerous times each day. Obviously this constant procedure has been a terrible annoyance to her, not only causing blisters in her ears but also affecting her self-esteem and overall performance. The blisters just about heal each weekend before it is time to go to work again. Deena recently purchased a new pair of Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids that greatly improved her ability to hear and communicate in her leisure time. The new hearing aids allowed her to easily switch the input, with a single button press, from listening to the people around her to her Bluetoothenabled TV, ipod and mobile phone. This worked great for her personal life but at work she could not realize the same benefit because her new Bluetooth hearing aids did not work with corded phones or even the on-site wireless phones. She wanted to connect to the work phones because they provided easy access to the hospital number plan, excellent voice quality and access to many of the available enterprise features required to conveniently perform her job functions. The Ascom Solution In early 2011, the Hospital upgraded its wireless telephony system from another vendor s Voice over Wireless LAN system to a more robust, healthcare-oriented and purpose-built Ascom IP-DECT system which also added a range of integration possibilities with messaging and alert features. Within just a few months, Western Baptist Hospital has more than doubled the number of wireless handsets from its initial deployment and is planning to further expand its usage of the Ascom IP-DECT system. When Deena found out that the hospital had started the roll-out of the new Ascom IP-DECT wireless system, she asked Randy Poston, Biomedical Coordinator, if she could try out the Ascom d62 handset with the Bluetooth option to find out if it would meet her specific needs. Randy provided Deena with a brand new Ascom d62 Bluetooth handset. Within minutes she had paired her hearing aids with the Ascom handset and tried a few incoming and outgoing calls. How It Works Hearing aids are purchased, adjusted and customized by an audiologist on an annual basis to the specific audio and ear-fitting needs of the hearing impaired individual. Deena is currently using an Oticon Streamer with its non-invasive dual headsets. The Oticon Streamer hearing aid is then connected to the Ascom d62 handset via a Bluetooth radio interface. The Ascom d62 handset communicates via the hospitalwide, interference-free IP-DECT on-site wireless telephone system providing unbeatable coverage, voice quality and call capacity. 2

3 As Deena explains, Wow, what a tremendous and liberating feeling it was to finally and conveniently be able to interact with all the people around me, as well as the people on the phone-line. Just the fact that I do not have to make people wait for me to unplug my hearing aid and then sometimes lose a call is such a stress-relief. This has given me an amazing freedom and also made me feel much better at work. No more blisters and I m able to provide about an hour more of productivity. I can also work uninterrupted from where I am and do not need to grab my documents and run into a more silent environment when the phone rings. In fact, the Ascom handset works so well that people on the other end of the call have told me that the voice is always much clearer with the Ascom d62 than it is when I use any Mobile phone. I have also been very impressed with the battery life on the Ascom handset. I never worry about missing or losing a call as one battery exceeds my work shift; however, I still occasionally need to charge the battery on the hearing aid during my lunch break. 3

4 Western Baptist Hospital located in Paducah, Kentucky is a regional medical and referral center, serving about 200,000 patients a year covering four states. With more than 1,700 employees and 240 physicians, it offers a full range of services, including cardiac and cancer care, diagnostic imaging, women s and children s services, surgery, emergency treatment, rehabilitation and more. It is part of the Baptist Healthcare System, one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in Kentucky. For information, see westernbaptist.com. These two radio standards (DECT and Bluetooth) use different radio frequencies and work excellently together without any interference. With her Ascom d62 handset and Bluetooth hearing aids Deena is able to easily make and receive calls with individuals inside and outside of the Hospital. Contrary to Deena s iphone where the noise-cancellation starts immediately when starting to dial, the Ascom d62 handset does not initiate the noise-cancellation until she presses the dial button. This enables her to pre-dial a number and then, when appropriate, either press the dial-button on the Ascom d62 or the hearing aid to initiate the call before the noise-cancellation starts. This gives her the option to prepare a call while still listening to a person telling her the number without being isolated from their voice. When she presses the dial button on her Ascom d62 handset, she is then prompted with the option of audio through her Bluetooth/hearing aid or via the Ascom d62 speaker. As Deena explains, this is a great feature when I, for example, need a patient to talk to the insurance company; I can then choose to let them borrow my phone. I also get the option when I receive a call. I may press the hearing aid button or use the Ascom d62 keypad to allow a patient or colleague to take the call. Summary By deploying a professional Ascom wireless communication solution, Western Baptist Hospital has not only been able to provide greater overall mobility and efficiency throughout its hospital complex but also improve the professional life for individual users such as Deena with her hearing impairment. Deena is now able to wear her hearing aids without interruptions all day long, enjoying the freedom they provide as well as the invaluable feeling of being a more efficient team player. As Deena explains, I really wish that more hospitals better understood the impact hearing loss has in work life. I hope that my personal story will help educate and offer support to other people with hearing disabilities and allow them to get the same benefit and experience as I have. The Ascom phone enabled me to be 100% present and connected, just like anyone else. 4

5 About Ascom Ascom is the Americas market leading developer of workplace wireless communication solutions providing system users with greater freedom of movement, better service and increased safety. Our research and development focuses on products and solutions for our core business of on-site wireless communication. We are committed to providing the Americas with products that are unique, durable and innovative. Questions About Ascom Wireless Solutions Learn more about dependable Ascom solutions at or call our experts today at ASCOM to learn how we can improve the efficiency of your business. Ascom (US) Inc. 598 Airport Blvd, Suite 300 Morrisville, NC ASCOM