By Chris Richard, KQED/The California Report
To try to improve patients’ rest, San Francisco General Hospital has installed devices resembling traffic signals near some nursing stations. Called “yacker trackers,” they monitor the volume of conversation and other work-related noise around the stations. When sound is at an acceptable level, the light shows green, turning yellow as the noise increases. When it’s too loud, the light turns red.
The admonitions might get on the nerves of hospital staffers who think they’re capable of regulating how loudly they talk without electronic oversight, but there’s evidence the yacker trackers do keep the racket down – and help patients rest better.
“Some staff members think this is a reinforcement that is welcome, and others may feel this is reinforcement that isn’t really necessary,” said Baljeet Sangha, San Francisco General’s “chief experience officer.”
“The answer is to go back to the metrics. They show these reminders do work.”
In some areas where the trackers were installed, patient satisfaction over nighttime noise doubled between April and June, Sangha said.
Read the complete story at KQED/The California Report.
