Starting Friday, Aug. 16, 500 disaster recovery iPhones will be available systemwide in the event of a major storm, cyberattack or other emergency. Instead of facility leaders randomly checking these devices out, red emergency phones and phone numbers will be pre-assigned to essential leadership and staffing/unit roles for each facility (e.g. lab manager, pharmacy front desk, unit secretary, unit charge nurse).
These phones will improve our ability to make and receive phone calls, even when data or telephone networks are unavailable. They can also switch between Wi-Fi and cellular networks, as well as other HM networks, depending on availability.
Local IT service operations teams, along with their nursing informatics counterparts, are developing digital directories, which can be used on the devices and other BYOD phones with the Vocera Edge app downloaded and enabled. If necessary, broadcast messages can be sent to all emergency phone users, providing urgent alerts and updates.
