Symbol Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: SBL), a global leader in enterprise mobility solutions, is set to deploy its new Symbol switched-wireless networking system throughout Erlanger Medical Center's 22-building healthcare campus.

Seeking to maximize staff efficiency and improve patient satisfaction, Erlanger will connect mobile medical workstations to the Symbol wireless network for mission-critical hospital information system (HIS) applications.

Today, nurses at Erlanger collect patient data by taking notes with pen and paper. Later, at fixed nursing stations, usually located outside patient rooms, this information is manually keyed into computers, creating the possibility for transcription error. When wirelessly connected at the bedside, nurses will be able to directly input data into the system and securely access vital information in real time, officials said.

"We are facing a nursing shortage and the return-on-investment for wireless technology is tremendous because it keeps our caregivers with the patient as much as possible and reduces the number of steps needed to gather information. The quality of a patient's visit is vastly improved," said Brad Brown, chief information officer, Erlanger Healthcare Systems.

"We chose Symbol's wireless solution because the policy-based security features offered by the system are flexible, practical and cost effective, enabling us to secure patient data in compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations," Mr. Brown said.

During the next 30 months, Erlanger plans to roll out approximately 40 Symbol wireless switches and 1,000 access ports across its campus for a broad range of applications. The mobile medical workstations, the ES-2000 from Tremont Medical, will eventually feature a headset-based soft phone for voice communications and an attached bar code scanner for verifying prescriptions while dispensing medications at the bedside.

Erlanger also plans to leverage the Symbol wireless network for mobile enterprise telephony. The healthcare provider plans to equip nearly 600 staff with Symbol NetVision(R) Phones for wireless VoIP (voice-over-Internet protocol) providing mobile enterprise telephony.

"Enterprise mobility applications can be used to provide greater efficiency and productivity for staff," said Ray Martino, vice president and general manager, network products, Symbol Technologies.

"Wireless networks are fast becoming a fundamental component of hospital information technology, and we anticipate that almost every hospital will have a Wi-Fi(TM) network by 2007. Symbol develops mobility systems that will play a significant role in society for many years to come," Mr. Martino said.

The Symbol switch-based wireless network is a platform that easily scales for higher bandwidth applications using IEEE 802.11a Wi-Fi wireless technology. Erlanger expects to co-locate 5.2Ghz wireless networks across 25 percent of the campus for intense digital imaging applications in the cardiology, radiology and neurology departments. In addition to blanket wireless coverage across the campus, Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b will be offered as a wireless Internet service to the 125 physician offices located on campus.

Erlanger Healthcare Center's wireless communications system is being installed by Erlanger's TMD Network Group, with products from Symbol and Nortel Networks Corporation.