BATESVILLE, Ind., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hill-Rom, a leading global provider of solutions for the patient-care environment, announced today the addition of Ascom in-building wireless handsets to the list of wireless devices that interface with its COMLinx(R) Nurse Communication System and help improve hospital efficiency, communication and productivity.

Ascom Medic handsets join Vocera(R) Wireless Communications System badges and Spectralink Corp. wireless telephones and pocket pagers on the list of approved wireless communication devices that can be integrated with COMLinx(R) NCM. These wireless options provide caregivers instant, wireless communication with staff and patients while on the go.

Hill-Rom worked with Emergin, a company that specializes in health care communication system interfaces, to integrate the COMLinx(R) system with Ascom handsets using Emergin's Nurse Call Gateway. Now, mobile caregivers can receive instant communication and patient alerts from the COMLinx(R) nurse communication system and call back to their patients using Ascom handsets while on the go. The Nurse Call Gateway also supports multiple output devices, such as wireless telephones, Vocera(R) badges, pagers and marquees.

When a COMLinx(R) Nurse Communication System is integrated with in- building wireless voice devices, patient calls can be routed directly to the assigned caregiver, allowing the caregiver to work more quickly and efficiently, which increases staff productivity and satisfaction among patients.

"Hill-Rom recognizes the power of real-time connectivity, and our vision is a real-time care environment, where caregivers get the right information as soon as they need it," said Don Maier, vice president of Hill-Rom's Services Division. "The addition of Ascom handsets to the list of approved wireless devices, when used in conjunction with other hospital systems, such as Hill- Rom's nurse communications system, creates significant opportunities to help our customers improve patient flow and staff efficiency."

Hill-Rom is in the process of interconnecting its portfolio of communication and patient flow solutions, along with its intelligent bed and therapy surface products, so they can share information among themselves and with other hospital products and systems. Connecting equipment, systems and solutions together in an intelligent, scalable open architecture will help optimize a hospital's efficiency and resource utilization.

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