Healthcare Facility Upgrades Operations with Relay

Located in the North Central region of South Dakota, Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics serves a community of about 20,000 people across five counties, including the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes. The facility works closely with their Native American partners and Indian Health Service (IHS) to proudly serve some of the poorest communities in the country. Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics is the only organization within 100 miles in any direction that provides obstetric services or general surgery services, making it a critical part of the community.

The organization is made up of a 25-bed critical access hospital, four federally designated rural health clinics with home health services, an assisted living and senior housing facility, and an ambulance service with four ambulances staffed by paramedics. The hospital was named among the top 20 critical access hospitals in the country last year and has been on the top 100 list for the last four years running. With limited transportation in the area, it’s often up to the mighty 215-person staff to both transport and provide even basic care for individuals across hundreds of miles.

Massive Construction Project Causes Communications Barriers

The 80,000 sq. ft. hospital recently embarked on a massive construction project that created new challenges for the organization. Temporarily moving departments into new spaces required additional communication between staff. John Ayoub, CEO of Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics, had planned on using walkie-talkies, but that didn’t go as expected. The lead-lined walls of the imaging department, in addition to the steel and excess materials from the construction, stopped the walkie-talkies signal from reaching across the facility. The phones set up around the property also have limited effectiveness, since staff aren’t always able to physically step away from a patient to answer a call. Urgently in need of a new communications solution, the hospital began searching for alternative methodologies. That’s when they discovered Relay.

“We work in an industry where every second counts and people’s lives are at stake. You don’t want to be worried about ‘will this text go through, or is this page going to be heard, or are they going to answer the phone.’”

– John Ayoub, CEO of Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics

Communication Success Expands Opportunities

After hearing glowing reviews from other organizations using Relay, Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics went ahead and chose Relay as their communications solution. “We got the devices and found that they work awesome,” says John. He continues, “We can use them anywhere. Whether you’re in the ambulance shed or ER, you can still hear what’s going on. The clarity is crystal clear. It works, every time, the way we expect it to work.” While the hospital’s primary use of Relay is to connect nurses across the property, Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics quickly expanded its use after realizing Relay’s positive impact on efficiency.

“Relay is doing exactly what we wanted, and now we’re seeing additional opportunities that we can take advantage of.”

– John Ayoub, CEO of Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics

They now utilize Relay in their clinic for telehealth and behavioral health patients. When patients come in to talk to their provider, they want privacy and simplicity. To achieve this, the hospital has put Relay devices in each room for the patient to communicate when their session is over and signal they’re ready for a nurse to enter the room. This has been well received by both staff and patients.

Streamlining Staff Communications and Patient Care

Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics has now been using Relay since January 2024. John is a huge Relay fan and so is his team. “My team loves them”, he says. “Relay is so easy to use and they’re not these big, clunky walkie talkies. Everyone just clips one on their scrubs and is good to go. The staff feels good knowing they’re connected with who they need to be connected with.”

“Relay has not only met our expectations, but exceeded them. It has been better than advertised and doing beyond what we need it for. I would recommend Relay without hesitation.”

– John Ayoub, CEO of Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics

While John and his team were mostly focused on comms and efficiency when they chose Relay, the panic feature has turned out to be a secondary benefit. The hospital runs a very busy ER, encountering people needing all sorts of attention, including individuals working through a psychotic episode or drug use side effects. Things can get tense, quickly, but having a way to communicate and locate people has put the staff more at ease. “The nurses love knowing it’s available,” says John. “Thankfully we have not needed to use the feature for a real scenario, but the peace of mind knowing if you needed it, it’s there, has really been well received.”

The hospital already has plans in place to expand its use of Relay across the property by providing devices to its maintenance and environmental services team. They’ve been relying on overhead paging systems for notifications but this creates unnecessary noise for both patients and doctors. Every time the overhead page goes off, everyone stops what they’re doing to listen to the announcement. Limiting these distractions will make everyone more comfortable and efficient. By having a Relay on every cleaning cart, staff can communicate directly with who they need to reach, getting things cleaned up or fixed quicker.

“We use a lot of products in the course of any given day and it really is nice when they are as good as advertised or even better. Relay has been phenomenal.”

– John Ayoub, CEO of Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics