Day Kimball Health Expands Use of ObservSMART Technology in Emergency Department to Enhance Patient Safety

Day Kimball Health (DKH) recently expanded the use of ObservSMART, a digital rounding tool designed to improve patient safety and staff accountability, into its emergency department. The expansion followed the system’s successful use in DKH’s inpatient psychiatric unit since 2021.

ObservSMART combines Bluetooth-enabled beacons, mobile devices, and discreet patient-worn sensors to ensure staff are present and attentive during safety checks. The system documents, timestamps, and validates patient observations in real time, reducing the risk of incomplete or inaccurate records.

“Patient safety is at the center of everything we do,” said Kyle Kramer, CEO of Day Kimball Health. “Bringing ObservSMART to our Emergency Department allows our staff to spend more time directly engaging with patients while ensuring the highest levels of accountability and accuracy in safety rounding.”

The decision to bring ObservSMART to the emergency department comes at a critical time, as hospitals nationwide were seeing an increase in patients with behavioral health needs. Unlike traditional paper or electronic clipboards, ObservSMART enables rapid verification of each patient’s safety status and environmental checks using beacons and strategically placed QR-coded stickers. Staff also receive reminder alerts when observations are due, helping them focus on patient care rather than administrative tasks.

Staff members in DKH’s inpatient psychiatric unit report positive outcomes with the system, including less paperwork, more time spent at the bedside, and greater insight into performance and patient behavior trends. Clinical leaders say the data collected through ObservSMART helped track patient moods, behaviors, and sleep patterns to better inform treatment planning.

Implementation of the system was led by Kramer, John O’Keefe, chief nursing officer, and Pete Neal, director of behavioral health services, who oversaw the initial adoption in the inpatient psychiatric unit. The project required close collaboration with DKH’s information technology department and InvisALERT Solutions, the system’s developer, to ensure seamless integration with the emergency department’s electronic medical record system.

“Bringing ObservSMART into the Emergency Department required extensive planning and IT integration, but the payoff will be tremendous,” added Neal. “It will make our team more efficient and will help us strengthen patient safety during what can often be the most challenging moments of care.”

DKH joins a growing list of healthcare organizations, including UCLA Medical Center, Sharp Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente and Houston Methodist that have successfully adopted ObservSMART to improve safety rounding and patient care.

Looking ahead, hospital leadership notes that recent IT upgrades will make it possible to expand ObservSMART into other areas of the hospital in the future.

Photo Caption: From left to right: Terry Jax, emergency department clinical manager; Darlene Sheldon, emergency department UR/PCT coordinator; Crystal Lanning, emergency department associate manager and educator; Pete Neal, PhD, director of behavioral health, celebrate the successful implementation of ObservSMART in our emergency department.