SafeSignal: A Lone Worker Safety Solution

A Zero-Button Safety Solution 

SafeSignal is a zero-button safety solution that enables users to quickly signal for help from a locked phone. This works in conjunction with a tether or headphones that plug into the users iOS or Android smartphone. If users don’t have constant access to their phones, they can also schedule a pre-set timed session.

When the tether is pulled or the session expires, an audible alarm is triggered and AlertMedia’s Monitoring Team receives a distress signal. They will then immediately dispatch law enforcement to the user’s precise location. 

SafeSignal in Action: How CentraCare Uses SafeSignal to Keep Their Home Health Care Workers Safe 

CentraCare is a not-for-profit health care system that provides comprehensive, high-quality care to a population of nearly 700,000 people in Central Minnesota. With many locations throughout the region, CentraCare Health comprises six hospitals, as well as senior living facilities, twenty-five clinics, and numerous specialty care services. 

Since implementing SafeSignal, CentraCare has increased their lone worker’s safety, improved worker confidence, and has realized greater success in nurse recruitment and retention. 

Safety 

For patients of St. Cloud Hospital—the largest hospital in the region—CentraCare provides follow-up home medical care and hospice services to individuals who are best served at home. For CentraCare, this means innovation and safety are the hallmarks of the organization. 

To keep its home health care workers safe in dangerous situations, CentraCare relies on SafeSignal from AlertMedia. The SafeSignal mobile application, combined with an expert monitoring team, tracks and protects nurses in the field, quickly dispatching local authorities to a nurse’s location during an emergency. 

Confidence 

International Association of Healthcare Safety and Security (IAHSS) research reveals as many as 61 percent of home care nurses have experienced some form of workplace violence. Another study found that approximately 30 percent of home care workers reported being sexually harassed. Home care providers face highly volatile and unpredictable situations, and the threat of workplace violence and harassment is very real. 

Even with comprehensive safety training and policies in place at CentraCare, nurses face “unknowns” going alone into private homes and unfamiliar neighborhoods to provide care. And as a 24/7 service provider, nurses often work outside of business hours, commonly reporting to a patient’s home in the middle of the night. 

With AlertMedia’s 24/7 Monitoring Center, home care workers can feel confident knowing that someone is monitoring for their well-being and that help is a tether pull away should an incident occur. 

Recruitment & Retention 

“AlertMedia’s lone worker monitoring solution not only improves the safety of our home health care workers, it also positions CentraCare as an employer of choice in the region—a huge competitive advantage given the growing nursing shortage. It’s truly a win-win.” 

–Kristen Husen, Home Care & Hospice Director, CentraCare Health 

In addition to improving employee safety and security, SafeSignal positively impacts nurse recruitment and retention. A CentraCare hiring manager revealed that during the interview process, prospective candidates often ask how CentraCare will help protect their safety while in the field. Prospective candidates and current employees alike view SafeSignal as an incredibly valuable employment benefit. 

CentraCare’s home health care workers possess a wide range of technical knowledge and comfort levels, so a simple, easy-to-use solution was critical to driving adoption. Kristen Husen, CentraCare’s Home Care & Hospice Director notes, “SafeSignal is incredibly intuitive and user friendly. It’s simple to start and end a monitoring session. We have employees who are less technology savvy who have quickly mastered the app—that alone speaks volumes to its ease of use.” 

Want to learn more about how to increase lone worker safety? Visit www.alertmedia.com/safesignal