MIAMI- Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH) is the first hospital in the country to launch a smartphone app for Apple iOS devices that uses Wi-Fi triangulation technology to offer patients the convenience of an on-campus indoor GPS-like way-finding system, along with other service enhancements.
Through the Fit4KidsCare app, families can now connect to MCH’s interactive way- finding campus maps, purchase items from the MCH gift shop, order room service and much more. The app was originally launched in 2010, initially providing families with ER and Urgent Care wait times, directions to the main hospital and its nine outpatient center locations as well as physician directories. In 2013, the hospital updated its app using mobile-software company Meridian’s software development kits for navigation and indoor positioning. Additionally, the hospital also used Cisco’s 802.11n Wi-Fi network and the Mobility Services Engine for computing location information in real time from hundreds of Wi-Fi access points, exposing them centrally to third party software platforms like Meridian.
“Miami Children’s Hospital is committed to optimizing the patient and family experience. The new app is one of many tools for supporting families in navigating the campus. It supplements a colorful, child-friendly interior way-finding system that uses colors and animal images as visual cues as well as staff commitment to proactive way-finding support,” said Ed Martinez, Chief Information Officer. “In our increasingly technically connected world, the new app adds a new dimension to the process.”
Once downloaded, the app’s new, indoor, way-finding feature provides smartphone users with an internal view of the main hospital’s layout. Using indoor positioning, it locates the users on the smart phone and provides step-by-step directions to any desired location within the hospital, similar to a GPS guidance system. The technology is an enhancement to MCH’s dedication to excellence in customer service.
The application offers inpatients and their families the ability to order room-service from the hospital cafeteria and order gift shop items straight from a mobile device. Families and friends can also send gifts or cards to patients admitted to the hospital by downloading the app.
To download the app, please visit the iTunes app store from your mobile device and search for Fit4KidsCare.
For more information on the Fit4KidsCare app please visit
www.mch.com/Fit4Kids
###
About Miami Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Miami Children's Hospital® is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with several specialty programs ranked among the best in the nation in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012-2013 by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor. 990.
About Meridian
With offices in Portland, Ore. and San Francisco, Meridian is an enterprise mobile software company specializing in "indoor GPS." Meridian offers location-based businesses – retailers, stadiums, hotels, hospitals, and more – the first content management system for building mobile apps to engage their customers, on location and off. You can learn more about Meridian at http://www.meridianapps.com.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Where Children Matter Most (2024)
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South
Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately
850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 307-bed
hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs
routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The
hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern
United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing
Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional
honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.