News Release

Hospital Contact
Michelle Bradley, APR
(563) 244-5786

Mercy Makes Wireless Internet Access Available to Patients, Guests

If you’re heading to Mercy Medical Center—Clinton, don’t forget your laptop or PDA.

First, Mercy offered its clinicians and care givers the latest advances in computer technology and healthcare-related applications. Now, the hospital’s patients and visitors can make good use of the same kind of progress with the availability of free wireless Internet service at Mercy’s North Campus and in areas of the South Campus.

Using the complimentary service, patients and guests of Mercy can stay better connected with friends and family, surf the Web, check their e-mail, or chat. Or, they could easily snap a photo of their new baby with a digital camera or camera phone, then instantly e-mail it to family and friends.

According to Mercy’s President/CEO Donna Oliver, the availability of wireless Internet service is just another example of how the hospital is focusing services to better meet the wants and needs of those it serves.

“We want our patients and guests to be as comfortable as possible, and part of that involves providing amenities that help them better maintain connections with family, friends or work,” she said. “We also know that wireless Internet access is the way of the future. We’re happy to say it’s available today at Mercy.”

Anyone with a laptop, PDA or hand-held device equipped with a Wi-Fi compliant 802.11 b/g wireless ethernet card and a standard Web browser can access the Internet from most anywhere throughout the hospital’s north campus and in areas of the south campus.

Once they open their Web browser inside the facilities, users will see a page that welcomes them to the guest Internet access at Mercy. After reviewing the “Terms of Use” agreement on the welcome page, and accepting those terms, they’re ready to access their e-mail or surf the Internet.

The public wireless network inside the hospital does not allow access to the hospital’s secure electronic medical records and systems directly related to clinical care. “Patient medical records remain very secure,” Oliver noted. Informational flyers are available to patients and guests that provide detailed instructions for accessing the wireless network.

In October 2007, Mercy took a giant leap into the future of health care by transitioning to an electronic health record system that makes use of leading-edge technology and best practices to increase patient safety and improve efficiency in the delivery of quality care.

The electronic medical record initiative included implementation of computerized physician order entry (CPOE), an adverse drug event (ADE) alert system, and the incorporation of equipment that healthcare providers at Mercy now use for bedside patient care and more precise, up-to-date record keeping.