Insider: v12-i05

Volume 12, Issue #05: May 2021

IN THE NEWS

Combating Alarm Fatigue – How Alarm Fatigue Affects Staff and Patients

If you step into any in-patient hospital or critical care center, you’ll notice one thing in common: near-constant, loud, piercing alarms. Of course, the purpose of an alarm is to get someone’s attention, immediately, when something abnormal occurs. One study records an average of 1.2 alarms heard by a nurse every 60 seconds, or as many as 359 alarms per medical procedure. Few alarms are of any clinical value, making them frustrating to hospital staff and in the worst cases, harmful to patients. Overall, frequent false alarms and noise levels do little to foster a healing, comforting environment.

The ECRI Institute listed alarm fatigue, or missed alarms, as the #7th Health Technology Hazard of 2019. An average nurse in the ICU has to deal with three dozen kinds of alarm sounds, but several studies support the fact that most people cannot differentiate between more than six different alarm sounds.
Click for more information.

Congratulations NAEO Awards Recipients!

Each year, the NAEO Board recognizes one outstanding volunteer who stands out for his/her overall leadership and contributions during the past year. Jana Olson is the recipient of the Michael Goumas Volunteer Of The Year award! Much like Michael, Jana gives so much of herself to NAEO and is always there to help anyone in need.

Gloria Fruit is the 2021 recipient of NAEO's Amtelco Employee of the Year award! This award is approved by the NAEO Board of Directors and given to an Amtelco employee in recognition for his or her outstanding contributions to our industry and the organization.

Software Release

The following software versions have passed Amtelco quality assurance testing and are ready for general release. 

• IS Server Version 5.04.7065.71 implements various fixes and improvements made in this and interim versions, including:
  • Not Ready Reason column added to EZ Waits Monitor
  • Agent Type settings added to EZ Waits Setup
  • Client Number column added to Script Event Tracker
  • Added Web Agent stations to the Stations Without Calls monitor
  • Controls to copy or delete Perfect Answer Greetings in Agent Setup
  • Style setting to show only emergency calls in Waits window
  • Style settings for disabling specific event sounds
  • Style setting for number of call appearances
  • Message tab added to Contact Selection settings in the Auto Dispatch response element
  • Client setting to enable Web Scripting access
  • Encrypted Web Scripting URL parameters
  • View Settings added to Directory Setup
  • Apply TimeZone hyperlink in OnCall Schedule Properties
  • Annotations shown when retrieving archived messages
  • Station Type setting added to Seek Operator Behavior
  • Wait for Machine option added to Auto Attendant Behavior

• Soft Agent Version 5.04.7065.80 implements various fixes and improvements made in this and interim versions, including:
  • Added message history items for creating calls with Genesis
  • Ability to conference when in the In Progress 2 call state
  • Implemented Directory View settings

• miTeamWeb Version 5.04.7065.29 implements various fixes and improvements made in this and interim versions, including:
  • Configuration option to show the status in Directory Field Table Display Format
  • Configuration option for the Dashboard data history
  • Configuration options for OnCall Roster refresh rate and filter
  • Configuration option for showing priority and subject when taking a simple message
  • Configuration option preventing Client entry in Call Log Advanced Search
  • When setting a Covered By, show the selected contact’s current status
  • Status follow’s listing’s time zone offset
  • Added Not Ready Reason to the Dashboard data
  • Option to download all Call Log recordings.
  • Added Shared Fields to Agent Editor
  • Ability to download selected messages from InBox
  • Changed the on-call schedule search in the OnCall Schedule and OnCall View widgets
  • Date range added to List View in OnCall List and OnCall View widgets
  • Current shifts highlighted in OnCall List View
  • Agent Name added to Last Changed column in OnCall
  • OnCall List Search allows comma separated values
  • Print feature added to OnCall Roster
  • Column sorting adding to OnCall Coverage display

• Infinity Web Applications Version 1.1.4.16 implements ServerTime and OperatorStatus methods added to the Infinity Service.

miTeamWeb – Script Widgets

IS – Reports Data Reference Settings

When scheduling a monthly report, it is important to reference the End Date from the end of a month. Otherwise, your report might not run correctly on months that have fewer days.
Click for more information.

Employee Spotlight

Diane Hottenstein – Accounting and Payroll Coordinator

Diane Hottenstein, a fixture at Amtelco since October of 1984, has retired this month – ending nearly 37 years of service to Amtelco and its employees. Diane processed all aspects of payroll to ensure that every Amtelco employee received their pay.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1980 with a major in accounting and a minor in business. Diane accepted a position at a CPA firm after graduation but left the accounting firm after four years for a job at Amtelco as a general accountant and the payroll specialist. In 2015 Diane received a “Hall of Fame” award from Amtelco for her many years of dedicated service.

Diane fondly remembers other fun acknowledgments over the years, “We used to have yearly ‘Bucky Ducky’ awards given to employees during our Christmas party. In 1989 I won the ‘A Fan No Matter What’ award for attending every Amtelco baseball game. I was given the ‘Humane Society’ award in 1992 for finding the owner of a lost dog who sought refuge under my car in Amtelco’s parking lot.”

Diane has a treasure trove of great memories from working at Amtelco and is quick to provide an answer about what she will miss most when leaving Amtelco, “My Amtelco family. They really do become part of your life – that’s just the way it is.”

When Diane began her career at Amtelco, she was lucky enough to sometimes work with company founder, Bill Curtin II, (affectionately known as “Mr. C”) and took on special projects he gave to her. She misses her friend and mentor, “Mr. C was the most awesome person I’ve ever known, and he and his wife were a great couple.”

In her retirement, Diane looks forward to spending more time with her family, including her beloved nephews and dad.