Challenge
Due to business expansion, legacy communication platforms were limiting the organisation’s ability to offer additional client care and services, such as integrating communications with their nurse call system and empowering staff through mobility.
Solution
Panasonic’s KX-NS700 compact hybrid communication platform specifically designed for small to medium sized businesses, supporting both IP and DECT phones integrated with their nurse call system, and ongoing plans for future expansion.
Easy low cost expansion using IP handsets backed by legendary Panasonic reliability were the deciding factors.
Elizabeth Maloney,
General Manager, Cabanda Care
Cabanda Care
Cabanda Care Inc is a non-profit, community-owned care facility located in Rosewood,Queensland, with a history of serving its community dating back to 1987. Managers are all registered nurses with 25 year’s experience in their field.
Offering enjoyment of an attractive, accessible environment with spacious outdoor areas, the facility allows visiting 24 hours a day, and most importantly has a nurse call system to alert a nurse or other health care staff member remotely when a client requires help.
When the certified Panasonic unified communications reseller, Phone Systems Brisbane was first called upon to improve overall communications at Cabanda Care, it supplied Panasonic’s KX-TDA200 Hybrid IP PBX system as a solution to work with the customer’s legacy cordless telephones from another manufacturer.
Five years later, Cabanda Care remained impressed by Panasonic’s reliability and affordability, but was also facing new and expanded needs and experiencing the limitations of a solid platform designed for less sophisticated requirements, for example integration with a nurse call system incorporating DECT cordless phones.
Another frustration was that under the previous system, the caller ID displayed to customers could be one of six different telephone numbers, creating confusion. Next, they were missing important after-hours calls due to the lack of a rational routing system. Finally, the nurse call function itself needed both upgrading and integration to reduce wasted staff hours and raise efficiency.
To address these important needs and eliminate the noted shortcomings, Phone Systems Brisbane recommended and installed a Panasonic KX-NS700 compact hybrid communication platform specifically designed for small-to-medium sized businesses.
Supporting up to 250 users and expansion-ready, this unified communication platform included built-in voicemail, integrated e-mail, basic call centre functions, and a wireless solution (DECT wireless system).
Along with the KX-NS700, the system was upgraded with 28 x Panasonic KX-NT553 IP proprietary telephones featuring best in class audio performance, 3-line backlit display, and 12 x 2 self-labelling flexible CO keys. To enhance staff mobility, 25 x Panasonic KX-TCA385 DECT handsets with dust-and-splash-resistant durability, DECT paging, noise reduction, vibration function and built-in Bluetooth™ completed the package.
This versatile Panasonic solution comprising these three types of devices both rationalised and upgraded Cabanda Care’s system, enabling them to serve their residents and community on a 24/7 basis at the highest level.
With the new system, residents can use the nurse call system and get a timely response thanks to the system’s DECT compatibility. Nurses equipped with the rugged KX-TCA385 handsets are able to respond much easier, as calls are sent to the nearest three DECT phones, with staff reacting appropriately.
Having experienced the benefits of Panasonic DECT, Cabanda Care management expects to increase the number of cordless handsets by 50% over the next 12 months. Also with the new system, there is just one caller ID owing to Panasonic and SIP technology, and call routing facilities have enhanced the efficiency and productivity of nursing staff especially after hours.
Appropriate response and system rationalisation are not the only benefits that Cabanda Care now enjoys. They also benefit from lower support and maintenance costs, particularly on legacy line rental and associated rates. These savings can now be re-purposed to further upgrade the system with CAT5 cabling infrastructure at no extra cost to the organisation.
Finally, to better serve the aging “baby boomer” generation that will one day be the majority of their clients, Cabanda Care plans to provide a phone and internet connection in each of its rooms for a low flat fee. The Panasonic solution adopted today by Cabanda Care makes such a solution for tomorrow entirely possible.
Products supplied
- Panasonic KX-NS700 Hybrid Communications Platform
- Panasonic KX-NT553 IP Telephone (28)
- Panasonic KX-TCA385 DECT Handset (25)
