Las Vegas-area Nursing Facility Adopts RFID for Memory-Impaired Residents

Upon being admitted to TLC, each new resident receives a wristband with an RFID tag attached. The tag's ID number is input by TLC's staff into the standalone Accutech software system, which stores information regarding the residents. The software can also issue alerts, triggering the locking of doors and the sounding of audible alarms. Employees input each resident's name, digital photograph, room number and any health information that may be vital during an emergency. The staff uses a handheld interrogator to read the tag's ID number and then load that number into the back-end system via a USB cable. The reader can also be used to turn the tag on and off, thereby enabling the center to conserve the battery life of its tags—which continually transmit RF signals while in use.

Once the waterproof tag and wristband—which snaps permanently around a patient's wrist—is being worn and activated in the system, if that individual then gets within a certain preset distance (typically, 4 to 8 feet) of a door that he or she should not access, the ID number is captured by the RFID readers and sent to the Accutech software, which triggers an alert and causes that particular door to lock. Simultaneously, the individual's name and picture, along with other information, are displayed on the computer monitor at nursing stations in both memory units, indicating where in the facility he or she is located.

An audible alarming device installed by TLC at the doorway alerts the staff throughout the area. What's more, because there are a large number of workers, including spotters, there are typically many people in the vicinity who can hear and quickly respond to the alarm. If an individual were to attempt to remove the tag by cutting off its wristband, a wire running through that band and connected to its tag would be severed, and the alarm would be sounded as well, with data displayed on the screen indicating whose wristband was tampered with, and where that person was located at the time the tampering occurred. A cut wristband could not be reused, though the active RFID tag attached to it could be affixed to a new wristband so it could be re-issued to a resident.

The software, known as Accutech 6.0, not only issues alerts but stores data for historical purposes—for example, tracking the times of day when a patient has a tendency to wander, as well as which residents are more likely to do so. Because staff members must input their own ID to unlock the door in response to the alarm, the system can also track which employees respond to each wandering incident.

When the system was first installed, Arzola says, TLC Care Center did some tweaking—tuning antennas, for example, in order to ensure adequate coverage. The software was also adjusted to reduce false alarms. One function is the loitering alarm, an alert that is sent if tags remain too long near a doorway. However, Arzola says, on sunny days, residents often sit by a window near a doorway, so the loitering function was creating false alarms. That problem was resolved by resetting the system to issue a loitering alarm only when a patient comes within a few feet of the door and remains there for a preset span of time (at least five seconds).

"We're very happy with [the system]," Arzola states. "I'm glad we were able to make the adjustments we needed to before we were full. What we have now is a customized system that fits our needs."