Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie Now Equipped with Wireless Internet Technology

Contact: Ashley Howland, 214-820-7540
Email: ashlehow@baylorhealth.edu

(WAXAHACHIE, Texas, Nov.13, 2006)- Beginning Nov. 1, Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie became equipped with wireless Internet technology throughout the hospital.

Through an external wireless network, patients are now able to wirelessly connect to the Internet from the comfort of their patient rooms or visitors can conduct business on their laptops while they enjoy a meal in the Parkview Café. An internal wireless network will allow employees and medical staff to communicate and transmit information relative to patient care from anywhere in the hospital.

"The same wireless technology that will allow patients to conveniently e-mail friends and family during their stay will enable health care providers at Baylor Waxahachie to exchange critical health information in a timely, efficient manner from any location in the hospital," says Jay Fox, president, Baylor Waxahachie.

For example, a physician waiting on laboratory test results can access the information in real-time via a laptop or handheld device from any location in the hospital eliminating the need to find an accessible computer station.

"Our medical staff can instantly log on to our internal network to view e-mail, patient reports or X-rays from an exam room, lobby or even a hallway. They are no longer bound to stationary computers," says Cindy Murray, vice president of patient care services, Baylor Waxahachie. "Good communication practices are critical to providing quality patient care so having immediate access to this kind of information is important."

In addition, this wireless technology will allow Baylor Waxahachie to implement mobile medical devices such as wireless intravenous pumps-used to deliver medications intravenously-that are already in place.

Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie is a not-for-profit, 69-bed hospital dedicated to providing technologically advanced medical care closer to home for residents of southern Dallas and Ellis Counties. In response to its growing communities, Baylor Waxahachie continues to grow and expand its medical staff.