GCX Patient Engagement Overbed Tables help pediatric ER nurses comfort young patients and their families

One of the nation’s largest emergency departments recently expanded its pediatric ER to 48 beds, positioning it to become the busiest pediatric ER in the country. Smart TVs mounted on the footwalls enable two-way communication for virtual visits and offer multiple entertainment options for patients and their families.

Electronic ‘My Stay’ boards are updated in real time to keep patients, parents and care teams aligned on treatment and discharge plans. Digital door signs provide important patient information, at a glance, to care team members as they enter each room. But for the clinical director of the pediatric emergency department, one of the most transformational technologies in these upgraded rooms is a table—the GCX Patient Engagement Overbed Table, a rolling overbed table equipped with an adjustable tablet mounting arm.From the moment the director saw the table, she saw its potential. And in the short time since the tables were deployed in the ER, they’ve exceeded her expectations.

“We were looking for ways to improve the entire experience for our patients and our care team,” said the director. “When I saw the GCX table, I knew it was exactly what we needed. And the experience of having it in every one of our rooms has been incredible.”

Two solutions in one product

Initially, the hospital was in the market for a traditional adjustable bedside or overbed table.

“We were looking for a table nurses could use to put out their supplies when they’re performing a sterile procedure, like starting an IV or accessing a mediport,” said the director. “We have IV carts in every room, but they’re limited because when a doctor needs to, say, do a lumbar puncture, they need a surface that’s sterile, height adjustable and close to the patient.” But when she saw the GCX table and its integrated tablet arm, she saw the solution to another problem: Providing tablets for easy access to information and entertainment, without the risk of device theft.

“At one point in our old ER we had an iPad for every patient, locked in a case. But they were constantly being stolen. And once they were stolen, they weren’t being replaced, because they’re so expensive.”

The GCX table’s tablet arm adjusts to let the young patients, their parents and their caregivers view the tablet from virtually any angle—but secures the tablet in a locked enclosure, so the tablet stays with the table.

“We were getting two things we needed for the price of one.”

Great product, great relationship
According to the hospital’s IT director, the Patient Engagement Overbed Table delivers the design features and durability he’s come to expect from GCX. Just as important—to the IT director and the clinical staff—is how easy it is to work with GCX.

1. Flexible and practical
   “Nurses can position the tablet at virtually any viewing angle, and move it out of the way when they need to.”
2. Convenient
   “There’s a USB-A/C charger right on the table. For parents that’s indispensable.”
3. Light but strong
   “The table is light enough to move around without it being a chore, but firm and stable, so it moves without rocking or tipping.”
4. Safe by design
   “You raise the table by grabbing anywhere and lifting, but to lower it you need to pull a handle, so there’s no risk of dropping it on the patient.”

Less chaos, more control
Nobody is happy to visit an emergency room. But arriving at a pediatric ER is ‘next-level stressful’ for young patients and their parents. “When families come in with their child, there’s an instant sense of losing control. The process, the environment, the strange faces, the schedule, and for some patients a foreign language—everything is different and unsettling. So from the moment they arrive, we do everything we can to empower them with information and resources that help them control the environment as best they can.”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets mounted to the GCX tables connect to the hospital’s Patient Engagement Platform, which provides on-demand access to
interpretive services for non-English speaking patients

• healthcare information from EPIC MyChart
• microlearning about medical conditions, treatment procedures and medications
• special apps for games, entertainment and relaxation

Together, the tablets and the tables help the young patients, their families, and their nurses with all kinds of tools for avoiding confusion, dealing with tension, and creating the best possible experience for everyone in the ER.

Interpretive services, anytime and anywhere
All hospitals and acute care facilities are required by law to provide interpretive services for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), particularly when communicating information relevant to a patient’s health and treatment. In a pediatric ER, these services are also a great comfort to non-English speaking patients and their families. The hospital’s tablets let patients, their families and clinicians connect instantly to online video remote interpreting (VRI) services for nine spoken languages, plus American and European sign language—24/7.

According to the pediatric ER staff, that around-the-clock availability is essential. “So many things we need to tell patients are unplanned but very important—things like Mom, I know the doctor said your child is getting an ultrasound, but first I need to insert this tiny catheter so we can obtain urine. Nurses don’t have time to wait or run around looking for an in-person interpreter before performing these procedures. Having instant access to an online interpreter in every room, anytime, is so important.”

It also saves money.
“In-person interpreters are consistently among the most expensive line items in our monthly budget. Having remote interpreting is a lot more cost effective. And with the broader language support we’re able to communicate with families we were never able to communicate with before.”

Positive distraction
Getting a child to start gaming on the tablet can be a real gamechanger for a nurse trying to start an IV or draw blood from a tiny arm. But some nurses use the adjustable table surface to hide these scary procedures entirely.

“We can raise the table to the patient’s chin level, and perform venipuncture and other procedures under the table,” said an ER nurse. “This really helps with children and even parents who have needle phobia—it avoids the need for repeated sticks. And with the tables I can do most IVs myself, without another nurse, something I was never able to do before.”

Relaxation, on-demand
Every tablet includes a relaxation app that can guide the patient through deep breathing exercises or play soothing sounds that calm the patient’s nerves. “If a child comes in with a migraine, we can have them listen to rain or send them to Hawaii for an hour. If we have an anxious 8-year-old who needs an IV, and we know it might hurt, we can have the patient do deep breathing while the nurse sets up the IV outside the room. It puts the child in a better place.” The nurses also use the relaxation app to calm parents. “An anxious parent will make their child anxious, too.”