HOSPITAL IMPROVES PATIENT EXPERIENCE BY ADDING EMAIL AND WEB ACCESS IN PATIENT ROOMS WITH VIRTUAL LINUX DESKTOPS

RedOrbit
Wednesday, 1 July 2009, 08:00 CDT

IBM, NoMachine and Novell solution provides hospital patients personal
desktops at fraction of energy and maintenance costs of PCs, says
Glendale Adventist Medical Center

ARMONK, N.Y., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM),
NoMachine and Novell announce today that Glendale Adventist Medical
Center (GAMC) in Glendale, California has improved the experience of
its hospital patients by delivering email and Web access in patient
rooms, while saving significant information technology (IT) maintenance
and energy costs.

(Photo: 57 ) (Logo:
6/IBMLOGO )

The hospital installed personal computing stations in 65 patient
rooms of its new West Tower, enabling patients to surf the Internet,
communicate with friends and family through social media websites
such as Facebook and Twitter, and research medical information about
their condition.

The hospital estimates that the energy-efficient "thin client" computer
monitors save 60 percent in electricity costs versus stand-alone
PCs. The hospital estimates that the new desktops have saved 98 percent
of the IT costs that would have been spent maintaining normal PCs.

GAMC patients have responded enthusiastically to the desktops, and
the hospital sees this service as a way to attend to the patients’
emotional needs and stand out from competitors. Some patients use
the computers to blog about their hospital stay or update CarePages,
popular patient Web sites that connect patients with chronic illnesses
to their friends and families.

"Just as easily as the hospital provides patients with TVs in
rooms, now we provide personal computing," said Roger Pruyne, senior
programmer/analyst and project manager for the GAMC Patient Computing
project. "The solution from NoMachine, Novell and IBM has delivered
fantastic results for patients and the IT team. Considering our
patients’ positive feedback, we’re looking to expand the project to
other Adventist Health hospital locations."

GAMC says it also plans to extend its use of virtual desktops for
employee and clinical use in the future. For more than 100 years,
GAMC in Glendale, California, has been on the leading edge of
medical technology. The hospital offers a wide range of advanced
services, including many that are normally available only in major
university-affiliated hospitals.

Using virtualized Linux desktops has kept the costs of the
patient service low while maintaining a high level of privacy and
security. Updates and maintenance to the software can be made on
a centralized server by the hospital’s IT staff, while no data is
left on the local client monitor after the patient checks out of
the hospital room. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell is the
operating system that virtualizes the 65 desktops. NoMachine, creator
and global distributor of NX desktop and application delivery software,
provides complete and efficient remote access. An IBM System x3650
server provides the back-end computing system, and IBM experts also
advised GAMC on the project’s design.

"Glendale Adventist Medical Center has found a healthy balance of new
patient services and lower IT costs," said Inna Kuznetsova, director
of IBM Linux strategy. "With Web access to friends and family,
the hospital’s virtual Linux desktops are improving its patients’
real hospital experience."

The NoMachine NX system provides easy set-up and installation,
reducing the need for software support and technical assistance,
enabling a smooth deployment of the in-hospital remote desktop solution
for patients. NX’s data encryption allows the secure transfer of
confidential information and patient records.

"An important feature of this project is NX’s ability to enable
a connection over any type of network, including low-bandwidth
and dial-up," said Sarah Dryell, business development manager for
NoMachine. "NX’s unique compression and caching features also provide
a seamless remote connection from the thin client to the server,
giving the patients the feel of being on their own personal computer,
while reducing power consumption and support costs."

About Glendale Adventist Medical Center Since 1905, Glendale Adventist
Medical Center (GAMC) has been providing quality health care services
to residents of Glendale and the surrounding communities. GAMC is a
full-service, not-for-profit medical center, providing state-of-the-art
inpatient and outpatient services that meet the needs of the hospital’s
diverse community, including the area’s growing Armenian, Latino
and Korean populations. GAMC specializes in the following services:
emergency, stroke/neuroscience, heart/vascular, spine injuries, joint
replacement, cancer treatment, behavioral health, rehabilitation
services and women’s issues.

Glendale Adventist Medical Center is a part of Adventist Health,
a not-for-profit, faith-based health system operating in California,
Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Founded on the Seventh-day Adventist
heritage of Christian health care, Adventist Health is comprised of
18 hospitals with more than 2,800 beds, nearly 18,000 employees,
numerous clinics and outpatient facilities, the largest system of
rural health clinics in California, 15 home care agencies and three
joint-venture retirement centers with a fourth on the way. For more
information, visit

About NoMachine Based in Rome, Italy, NoMachine is the creator
of award-winning NX software, an enterprise-class solution
for secure remote access, application delivery, and hosted
desktop deployment. Since 2001, NoMachine’s mission has been to
revolutionize the way users access their computing resources across
the Internet to make seamless desktop access as easy and widespread
as Web browsing. NoMachine provides a comprehensive software
infrastructure stack, core development, and support services built
around the self-designed and self-developed NX suite of advanced
components. For more information about NoMachine NX technology visit

IBM works with clients around the world to create smarter healthcare
systems. This includes better integrated data so doctors, patients
and insurers can share information seamlessly and efficiently. IBM
also helps clients apply advanced analytics to vast amounts of data to
improve medical research, diagnosis and treatment to improve patient
care and help reduce healthcare costs. For more information on IBM,
visit Media Contacts Colleen Haikes IBM
Media Relations 415-545-4003 chaikes@us.ibm.com Katie Glossner
NoMachine Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator 513-618-2652
glossner@nomachine.com Alicia Gonzalez Media Consultant Glendale
Adventist Medical Center 818-800-3113 gonzalA1@ah.org