Mountain States Health Alliance to Install Wireless Infrastructure from Johnson Controls

First Health Care System-Wide Deployment of Wireless Infrastructure Will Aid Patient-Centered Care

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Mountain States Health Alliance, the largest regional health care system in northeast Tennessee, has signed an agreement with Johnson Controls, Inc., the global leader in facility management and control, for the first system-wide installation of a single wireless distribution technology in the health care industry.

The InnerWireless® System, an in-building wireless distribution system, will be installed throughout the health care system, including its nine hospitals. This wireless infrastructure provides complete wireless coverage for a variety of voice and data services that are essential to facilitate patient care.

Mountain States Health Alliance plans to use the system to support an electronic clinical documentation system that will allow medical orders, notes and prescriptions to be entered into a patient's medical record, at the bedside, through handheld devices such as PDAs and tablet PC's. All the medical professionals participating in the patient's care then can access that information. In addition the system records and double-checks the administration of medications.

Under the $2.4 million contract with Johnson Controls, installation of the InnerWireless System will begin at the Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tenn., the flagship hospital, this fall and then will be implemented throughout the system over the next 13 months. At Johnson City Medical Center, the wireless system will be installed in the new intensive care unit that will compliment the articulating arm service columns within each room. These columns will hold all patient monitoring equipment and data connections so that a patient's bed can be moved around the room for treatments, testing or family interaction.

The InnerWireless System is configured to easily support future applications, including wireless LAN, paging, voice-over IP telephone and energy management using existing Johnson Controls Metasys® building management systems.

"Our focus on delivering the highest level of patient-centered care demands that we explore all available technology that enhances the patient and family experience. Our vision is that the InnerWireless System will enable the patient and family to stay connected and informed during their healing experience," said Dennis Vonderfecht, FACHE, president and chief executive officer, Mountain States Health Alliance.

"We wanted a wireless network infrastructure that we could install once and that would support all the applications we wanted to implement in the future. We found this with the Johnson Controls InnerWireless System," said Mark Moody, corporate director, engineering services, Mountain States Health Alliance. "We have always been on the leading edge of new technologies that help us deliver better patient care, and we believe the InnerWireless System will help us do just that."

"We explored several types of wireless initiatives; using a traditional system would have required that we install several wireless infrastructures," said Richard Eshbach, CIO, corporate director, information systems, Mountain States Health Alliance. "With the InnerWireless System we could install one infrastructure that gives us universal coverage and allows us to easily modify and expand without intrusive changes."

"Johnson Controls has been working with Mountain States Health Alliance since its inception in 1998. The health system leaders have always been committed to improving the environment for patients and their families. The InnerWireless System will provide the performance, coverage and reliability to support more patient-centered care initiatives," said Susan Roach, director of healthcare, Johnson Controls.

About Mountain States Health Alliance
Mountain States Health Alliance is the largest locally owned and managed health care system in northeast Tennessee. It was formed in 1998 after Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, Inc. acquired six Columbia/HCA hospitals in the region. Today, Mountain States Health Alliance provides a comprehensive continuum of care to people in 24 counties in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. In addition to nine hospitals, it includes an integrated health care delivery system with 21 primary/ preventive care centers and 13 outpatient care sites, including First Assist Urgent Care, Medical Center North, Med-One of Tennessee, MedWorks, Same Day Surgery, Rehab Plus, Gray Physician Group and the ValuCare Clinic in a grocery store. For more information on MSHA, please visit their web site http://www.msha.com

About Johnson Controls, Inc.
Johnson Controls, Inc., is a global market leader in automotive systems and facility management and control. In the automotive market, it is a major supplier of integrated seating and interior systems, and batteries. For non- residential facilities, Johnson Controls provides control systems and services including comfort, energy and security management. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI - News), founded in 1885, has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its sales for 2003 totaled $22.6 billion. For more information on Johnson Controls, Inc., visit the company's web site at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com