Hospital Houskeeping Systems - Your Healthcare Support Services Partner

Revolutionary, Cloud-Based System Recognized for

Streamlining the Complex Hospital Patient Throughput Process

AUSTIN, TEXAS, September 8, 2011 - Hospital Housekeeping Systems (HHS) took home the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce "Greater Austin Business Award" in the "Technology - Large Company" category at the annual awards event.

HHS was nominated and won the award for developing BedWatch^TM, a cutting-edge, cloud-based bed management solution that enables hospital housekeeping, admissions and nursing staff to communicate and "place" patients easily and quickly--directly impacting hospital profitability, clinical outcomes, patient experience and overall operational efficiency.

Steve Jourdan, HHS's Chief Information Officer, accepted the award at last Wednesday night's ceremony at the Hilton hotel in downtown Austin, along with HHS's Chairman of the Board, Craig Holmes.

"We are thrilled to accept this award," Jourdan said. "It's an honor to have our hard work validated by the Austin business community."

As a healthcare support services provider serving more than 140 hospital partners in 20 states, Hospital Housekeeping Systems' leadership group is acutely aware of the inherent challenges of the patient throughput process.

"Monitoring the availability of hospital beds and patient throughput has traditionally been a complex and inefficient undertaking," explains HHS's CEO, Ryan Williams. "It relies on a wide range of staff members reporting a variety of information in a timely manner-and that's a difficult thing to achieve."

Williams explained that tracking and communicating this information accurately and efficiently is uniquely important because delays in 'room turn-around,'-the amount of time it takes for an empty patient room to be cleaned and available for the next patient-can directly affect quality of care, patient safety, patient satisfaction, and hospital revenue.  

"Because BedWatch^TM was built to operate 'in the cloud' on Salesforce.com's highly secure platform, rather than on an older, client server-based platform, hospital staff can access, analyze, and update data in real time using any mobile device such as an iPad, iPhone or Android device.  All they need is access to an Internet connection" Jourdan explains.

"We truly believe BedWatch^TM is a revolutionary system, and we are thrilled that the 2011 judges of the Greater Austin Business Awards agree," says Jourdan. "We are especially excited about receiving the technology award in a city like Austin, which is often compared to Silicon Valley in terms of being a leading technology hub."

Williams echoed Jourdan's sentiments: "Our company has been built on providing the highest quality support services to our partner hospitals, and BedWatch^TM represents a natural evolution of that commitment," he said. "We saw a clear need in the industry, and we developed an innovative solution that is secure, scalable, and cost-effective."

Hospital Housekeeping Systems was founded in Austin in 1975, with the goal of providing superior quality housekeeping and support services to hospitals. While HHS continues to focus primarily on housekeeping services, the company has also diversified to offer food service options and patient transportation solutions. Learn more about Hospital Housekeeping Systems at www.hhs1.com; learn more about BedWatch^TM at www.bedwatch.com.

The Greater Austin Business Awards, organized by the Austin Chamber of Commerce, are the premier business awards in Central Texas, recognizing small, medium and large companies in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. More information about the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Austin Business Awards, including a complete list of winners, can be found at www.austinchamber.com.

For more information about Hospital Housekeeping Systems, please contact Elizabeth Groh at (512) 478-1888 or elizabethg@hhs1.com. For more information about BedWatch^TM, please contact Mary Werner at (866) 855-5500 or maryw@hhs1.com. For more information about the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Austin Business Awards, please contact Cynthia Guajardo at 512-322-5686 or cguajardo@austinchamber.com.

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