Today was super cool - it began with a visit to Valley Medical Center by a group of 12 nursing students from Japan! That's them, in the photo, along with VMC Foundation staff member Debbie Burdsall, touring through our Spinal Cord Rehabilitation outdoor plaza.
Okay, I'm not the finest photographer on earth. Maybe they all turned their heads at once or something. That's probably it.
Anyway, they said they learned a lot (through their translator), and if only knowing six words of Japanese didn't make me feel inferior enough, I was given a reality jolt when Debbie and I explained our wireless network.
In 2004, the VMC Foundation with help from Ophoenix launched Valley Medical Center's first wireless network for patients and their families. Debbie's job is Technology Champion, helping patients with a wide range of disabilities access the Internet, email, and information. All made possible by our wireless network, of course.
We explained all this to the Japanese nursing students. They were confused. They didn't seem to understand. Then it occured to me: Most of them were from Tokyo. Their whole CITY has been wireless since most of these students were putting puffy stickers on their Hello Kitty lunch boxes. They literally had NO IDEA why what were describing was worth describing.
So another reminder that America is now and then behind the times. Still, our wireless network has been helping patients in major ways for years now, and some hospitals in Silicon Valley don't yet have this technology available in patient rooms, public areas, and everywhere we can offer it. Even if they did, they don't have Debbie...funny how the best technology still depends on a skilled and helpful human being for the best experience.
Our wireless program really is cool, in fact. Want to learn more about how we do it, about Debbie, and how you can help us improve it? Click here, and thanks!
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