Mobile device charging stations help patients and visitors stay connected

Mobile device charging stations help patients and visitors stay connected

Visitor Tyreeona Foster takes advantage of a charging station while waiting for a patient at Christiana Hospital.
Visitor Tyreeona Foster takes advantage of a charging station while waiting for a patient at Christiana Hospital.

High-speed, mobile device charging stations have popped up in a several key locations since Bob Borrelli pitched an idea to Shawn Smith, MBA, vice president, Patient Experience.

The free charging stations are mounted on clearly marked floor stands at Christiana Hospital in the Main Lobby, the Surgical Waiting Lounge and the Emergency Department waiting area at Christiana Hospital, and in the Emergency Department waiting area and Surgical Waiting Lounge at Wilmington Hospital.

Borrelli, an analyst in Christiana Care IT Department, said that while he spent several days watching over a friend in the Cardiac Short Stay Unit (CSSU) at Christiana Hospital, he began to appreciate how much his connectivity does to help him keep in touch and relieve boredom.

“As an analyst I support and maintain several applications that we use for patient care, so I am always focused on making things easier,” he said.

“Spending time in the hospital on a weekend, I noticed that without tablets and cell phones to look up phone numbers and keep people busy while waiting to be cleared for discharge or admitted, people who had devices but did not have chargers were missing something we could easily provide to make their experience with us better.”

Borrelli said he first thought of donating some chargers to the CSSU, but then broadened his scope to cover patients wherever they might be. He emailed his suggestion to Michelle L. Collins, MSN, RN-BC, ACNS-BC, director of Nursing Development and Education, who shared it with Smith, who recognized the idea as a “slam dunk” right away.

“There are charging stations in most airports and a lot of hotels for the convenience of passengers and guests,” Smith said. “There was no reason why we couldn’t offer the same convenience, for free.”

He wrote to Borelli: “Hey Pat: I have some good news! We actually took your idea and purchased six courtesy charging stations. Thanks to your idea, patients and families will be able to charge their devices in all of our lobbies.”

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