Medical gas master alarms are among the most crucial pieces of equipment in a healthcare facility. They monitor life saving gases such as oxygen, nitrous oxide, medical air, etc. The Joint Commission and other regulatory agencies have moved the master alarm system for medical gases to the top of their list when addressing areas of concern. In other words, if you have a problem with your medical gas master alarms, you need to fix it quickly. Problems or deficiencies with these alarms present a distinct hazard to patient safety and must be dealt with.
The issue within most facilities is that the alarm systems, or at least the wiring is very old. So while other portions of the system have been upgraded, the master alarms are still operating on an antiquated copper wire system that may not meet the current specifications for the newer alarm panels. The other issue is that hospital ceilings are full, very full, with little room to run additional conduit and wire, making the addition of alarm panels in different locations costly and time consuming.
There is another way…ethernet. Your hospital has it, every hospital has it, most houses even have it! Ethernet is a scalable technology that is likely kept up to date by your IT department. At EMGS, we have the expertise to work with your IT department and utilize your existing infrastructure to provide you with a master alarm anywhere you have a computer with an intranet connection to your facility’s network. This is all accomplished via the Amico AIMS Ethernet solution.
EMGS recently completed this project at Houston Medical Center in Warner Robins, Ga. They had a need for a master alarm in their engineering annex building, but running new wire all the way to that building was going to be difficult due to the crowded ceilings and having to traverse buildings. We implemented the Amico AIMS Ethernet solution, and now they have a touchscreen panel (pictured to the right) that shows them in real time the status of all of their master alarms for the facility. They also get an e-mail notification any time an alarm goes off, thereby creating a log of alarms and notifying the appropriate staff.
If you have medical gas master alarm issues, take heart, they aren’t as bad as they seem. They can be resolved and it can be done with less of a headache than you think. Give us a call and we will work with you to create a solution that is perfect for your facility.