Press Release

Versus Announces Successful RTLS integration to Rauland’s Responder 5

 

(Traverse City, Michigan, February 23, 2010) – Building on 15 years of reliable integration to Rauland-Borg’s nurse call systems, Versus Technology, Inc. (Versus) announces the integration of its Real-time Locating System (RTLS) to Rauland’s Responder 5 Nurse Call. The integration will help hospitals communicate in real-time, minimize data entry, eliminate redundant activities and automate tasks such as patient call cancellation.

 

In essence, Nurse Call Life Safety Systems are required in all situations where a nurse is not constantly present with a patient. Nurse call systems provide a mechanism allowing the patient to call for nursing assistance. With advanced nurse call systems such as Responder 5 in place, hospitals can increase the nurse-to-patient ratio while reducing the costs of care and maintaining quality care. Accurate RTLS from Versus adds to this by reducing the number of steps required for a nurse to cancel the patient call (her presence alone does this via the RTLS badge), increasing response times, nurse mobility, communication and staff satisfaction.

 

Nurse call systems are mandated by individual states and generally regulated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the body that has traditionally approved nurse call systems for safety and security. To that end, Rauland-Borg and Versus share the only co-UL listing for RTLS-enabled nurse call systems.

 

This latest integration of Versus RTLS to Rauland’s Responder 5 is an important advancement in the nurse call industry because, aside from automating Responder 5 with location information, Versus is also sharing configuration and event data that will allow Versus and Rauland to continue to build enterprise solutions for hospitals. This higher value information is the foundation for real-time situational awareness and clinical workflow automation that is lacking in healthcare.

 

Although the functionality is the same as existed in previous Rauland-Versus integrations, the Versus RTLS to Responder 5 integration is a true systems integration—where RTLS is no longer considered an add-on to the nurse call system. Data is recorded automatically and reports from Responder 5 will include staff-specific data from Versus, allowing managers to evaluate one report from both systems, instead of two. The first two Responder 5 and Versus RTLS integration went live in hospitals in Colorado and Alabama in January 2010.

 

Quality healthcare demands automated nurse call systems that complement nursing activities and are easy to implement within the existing IT environment. Rauland and Versus worked together to develop an open API that would accommodate a point-to-point interface. Though the open API will accept RTLS data from a variety of sources, the Versus system is warranted to work with Responder 5 and will offer the same no-false positives that Versus has offered Rauland customers for the past 15 years. Customers will benefit this shared commitment to quality and safety.  The system integration can be seen in operation at the Health Information Management Systems Society conference (www.himss.org) in the Rauland-Borg booth #5603, March 1-3 in Atlanta, GA.

 

 

About Rauland-Borg Corporation

Rauland-Borg is the market leader of Nurse Call communication systems within the US Healthcare Industry. Rauland-Borg’s latest version, the Responder® 5, is a complete and easy-to-use communication solution that offers true VoIP technology and seamless integration into a facility’s local area network and complementary systems. This includes wireless phones, real-time location systems, tracking equipment, pagers, and staff scheduling. Responder 5 supports hundreds of call processes that help advance a hospitals workflow and enhance patient care. It is a solution that’s readily customized to fit a hospitals environment, and delivers the performance caregivers are looking for. For more information contact us at www.rauland.com.

 

About Versus Technology, Inc.

For nearly 20 years, Versus Technology, Inc. has maintained the leadership position in the development and sale of context-aware real-time location systems (RTLS) used for enterprise patient tracking, bed management and asset tracking to improve patient flow and caregiver/patient communications in hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. Versus also develops dual infrared and Active RFID tags and other location tracking hardware to make locating systems more precise, security systems more intelligent, nurse call systems automatic, and hospital asset tracking systems more efficient. Indoor positioning through Versus’ RTLS enhances existing hospital software and patient care systems with real-time, reliable bed-level location information. The patented Versus IR and Active RFID patient and asset tracking system is exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association and is a key component of their Patient Flow Platform—which includes a select group of vendors that provide proven solutions to enhance patient flow and improve patient safety. (www.versustech.com; Pink Sheets: VSTI.PK)

 

Safe Harbor Provision

This document may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events, such as the development of new products, the commencement of production, or the future financial performance of the Company. These statements fall within the meaning of forward-looking information as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting the Company’s markets and market growth rates, products and their rate of commercialization, services, prices and adequacy of financing, and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update, amend, or clarify forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

 

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Media Contact:                                                           Investor/Analyst Contact:

Versus Technology, Inc.                                                Versus Technology, Inc.           

Stephanie Bertschy, Director of Marketing                       Joseph Winowiecki, Chief Financial Officer

877.983.7787                                                                231.946.5868

skb@versustech.com                                                    joew@versustech.com