Business VoIP

Frances E. Parker Home, a growing New Jersey-based senior care provider with assisted living and nursing facilities in Piscataway and New Brunswick, has centered its corporate strategy on proving exceptional care. Tools for providing prompt and effective response to residents and their families were at the top of the requirements list when the organization decided to upgrade its communications infrastructure to bring new efficiencies to its operations.

 

Frances E. Parker Home selected a new IP telephony network from Avaya (News - Alert) Inc., a global provider of business communications applications, systems and services. The new network was designed by Consolidated Technologies, Inc., a member of Avaya’s Business Partner Program, and is based on Avaya IP Office, a secure, easy-to-use converged voice and data system for small and medium offices.

 

The organization had started with an IP office system for each of its two facilities and two more were added to support a new assisted living facility and wellness center. Each of the systems is linked in a seamless network for organization-wide four-digit dialing and centralized voicemail.       

 

The built-in wireless capabilities of Avaya IP Office are being used by Frances E. Parker Home to make a positive impact on the care the facility provides to its residents. Now, when a patient presses a “Personal Emergency Response System” button to request assistance, a message is routed immediately to the wireless phones carried by the nursing staff.

 

“Since the message goes to a wireless phone instead of a central nurses’ station, we can respond to critical situations more quickly and deliver better service,” said Norman Hale, director, plant operations, Frances E. Parker Homes, in a statement.

 

“I use a wireless phone as well, and I’ve found it to be really seamless. If someone dials my office number, the call will also ring on my wireless phone whether I’m at the Piscataway campus or working in New Brunswick instead.” 

 

The organization’s administrative team uses the same wireless capability to support wireless headsets. Staff and residents are able to use wireless laptops to facilitate communication from anywhere in the facility, eliminating the need to hardwire rooms for Internet access.

 

Major benefits also have been realized by changing how calls are routed. “Previously incoming calls were answered by a concierge or operator and then routed out to the appropriate member of the team,” Hale said. “With IP Office, it is now possible to dial a resident or staff member directly. We’ve reduced the number of calls answered by an operator by about 80% and have freed up that staff member’s time for other administrative work.”

 

 

 

IP Office supports IP, digital and analog phones, enabling residents to simply bring a phone along when they move a Frances E. Parker facility and plug it in when they settle into their new room. Hale and his team assign a personal number and use Avaya software to track usage and bill residents monthly.

 

All four Avaya IP Office systems are centrally administered so that a location visit is not necessary when new users are added or system settings need to be changed. Hale and his team can even dial in remotely to manage the air conditioning and security systems.

 

Through the Avaya IP Office Phone Manager Pro, employees can use a personal computer to control the functions of their phone. Employees are able to set up conference calls, manage their voicemail, route messages to an individual or group, dial calls with the click of a mouse, and even see information on incoming callers before they answer, helping them to personalize their response.

 

“Avaya IP Office has provided us with a solid platform for growing our operations, working more efficiently, and providing exceptional service to our residents and their families,” Hale said.

 

Frances E. Parker Home has centered its corporate strategy on providing exceptional care and service to its patients and their families. As a result of this effort, the organization has also recognized the importance of communications and how a seamless environment contributes to a resident’s experience.

 

The facilities also stands to gain significant benefit from the implementation of the Avaya IP Office system. By providing a centralized system that supports a wireless environment, employees can be more mobile and calls can be routed directly, reducing administrative time and costs and contacts can be more easily reached. Streamlining communications in this manner will contribute to a more smoothly run environment, which can contribute to a more positive environment overall.