New Hands-Free Devices At BayCare Gives Comfort To Patients

TAMPA BAY AREA, FL — BayCare is utilizing Aiva technology in 2,500 hospital rooms across 14 Tampa Bay area hospitals, a news release said.

Patients will experience smart rooms that allow them to connect with their care team and control devices hands-free. The technology is currently being used at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz before being implemented system-wide by BayCare into other hospitals. BayCare hopes to have the technology in place across its entire system by the end of 2021.

BayCare uses a health care specific platform known as Aiva to handle patient requests, health officals said. Requests are immediately sent to the appropriate support person based on what a patient tells Aiva via an Alexa device installed in their room. The care team member receives the request on their BayCare iPhone specifically deployed for communications.

The technology was piloted at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa and Winter Haven Hospital in 2019 before being put in use at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in late 2020. Patients were highly satisfied with the Aiva technology in surveys during the pilot, Craig Anderson, BayCare director of innovation, said.

The Aiva technology using Alexa in hospital rooms also allows users to play music and ask for news, information, weather, trivia and sports updates. If a patient prefers not to use Alexa, they can mute the device.

“Aiva not only instantly bridged communication between patients and the care team , it also provided more ways for them to interact,” Anna Giles, a Winter Haven Hospital registered nurse said.

Anderson said BayCare will have the largest deployment of Aiva technology using Alexa for a U.S. health system.