Smooth transition. The nursing home Günschmatte at the picturesque Lauterbrunnen accommodates about 35 retirees, including patients highly dependent on care. The existing nurse call system was getting old and was replaced by a modern system in 2015.
The institution was founded in 1981 and currently has 35 employees. A milestone in 2000 was the expansion with new offices and a large hall. There are 35 single rooms and a holiday lodging. For its inhabitants, who mostly come from the valley, Günschmatte offers 24-hour care, activation programs and various events, such as small concerts or exhibitions. There is also a lunch menu, used by seniors from across the valley.
Old radios and pagers. For several years it had become apparent that the old nurse call system had reached the end of its life cycle. «Our people were sometimes no longer accessible and spare parts could hardly be procured,» says Christian Löffler, Head of Technical Services in Günschmatte. Thus, the replacement was decided, especially as the telephone system had to be restructured because of the switchover to IP. In the tender phase, the offer of the local electrical contractor EWL proved to be the best solution. This in turn brought TeleAlarm into play. «In TeleAlarm, we liked the flexibility because the new components had to cope with the existing infrastructure. We noticed even in the first contacts, how competent the people of TeleAlarm are», says Christian Löffler. In fact, existing elements such as ground contact mats could be readily integrated.
EWL as an interface. In this process, EWL worked as an interface to TeleAlarm. «We wanted to work with a service provider who is familiar with the matter and has the right products,» explains Beat Aeschbacher of EWL. «Which systems do they employ, how do these interact with each other? Every notification must be sent to the right mobile phone, everything should be automatically logged and much more.» A particular challenge was that the conversion was necessary during operation. «We linked the telephone system with computer technology in August 2015, and then added the alarm system to it in September», says Beat Aeschbacher. «This took a lot of time and good planning.» For some time, the old and new system worked side by side, tests were carried out room by room and only after this, the old installations were removed. «We put a framework program on its feet in two days so that very few residents were in their rooms», says Christian Löffler. «The cooperation was excellent, everything worked smoothly and without any interruption», he expresses with satisfaction.
Multifunctional monitoring system. Emergency call, room surveillance, alarm when someone gets up, but even with a low battery, these are the main components of the newly installed and expandable system. «If a resident, who is not supposed to leave the house, passes through a door, a notification about it is received via mobile phone. Therefore, we no longer have to call out to gather people», says Christian Löffler. Everything is less complicated with the new system. Previously, one used to travel with a radio device, pager and mobile phone; today the DECT phone is sufficient. These devices are assigned with a certain function and not a particular person; thus, there is greater flexibility. «New components, such as an additional transmitter, can be added within a few minutes», he says.
A contact person. The triple combination of home, EWL and TeleAlarm proved to be completely unproblematic. «EWL was present as general contractor on site and I had and have only one contact person», explains Christian Löffler. «My Hotline reaches out to EWL, who in turn have remote access to the alarm server and can reach out to someone at TeleAlarm when needed.» This is confirmed by Beat Aeschbacher: «It‘s important to me that I do not end up in any call center and the callback takes a week, which has already been experienced. I can directly get in touch with an employee of TeleAlarm at any time if a problem arises that I cannot solve myself.» But this has not occurred yet. The system has worked well till date without any significant incident.
