Gavin, 24, gave birth to their daughter, Brooklyn, early Sunday morning at Lowell General Hospital.
While cradling their newborn yesterday, both parents were thankful they had a tech-savvy resource at their fingertips.
With a click of a TV remote, the couple watched parenting education videos in their hospital room, covering topics like breastfeeding, newborn care and postpartum care for mothers.
“The videos are very helpful, especially for new parents,” Gavin said.
The patient educational videos are one of many services provided by SkyLight ACCESS Interactive Patient System, an interactive multimedia system for hospitals.
“It's about providing a robust tool for the hospitals to improve patient satisfaction, greatly enhance nurse productivity, and to be viewed as a competitive tool in their local marketplaces,” said David Schofield, CEO of Skylight Health Care Systems.
The San Diego-based company provides the interactive television service in more than 60 hospitals across the country. The service works by featuring an on-demand menu on the TV screen, allowing patients to choose from educational videos, family-friendly movies, Internet access and other services whenever they want.
At Lowell General, the hospital provides the service for free, offering 79 patient educational videos with topics that include parenting, diabetes, patient rights, and prevention and wellness.
“They (patients) can request health information, both preventative information as well as information related to their current disease or surgery,” said Amy Hoey, Lowell General's vice president of patient care services.
Skylight's interactive capability enables patients to also request services ranging from a language interpreter to an extra blanket, all from their beds. These requests are sent directly to appropriate departments, allowing nurses to spend time on patient care and patient education, Hoey said.
Lowell General is the second hospital in New England to use Skylight, following Cape Cod Medical Center.
“Any type of information we can put in their (patients) hands really helps to empower them,” Hoey said.