The organisation has chosen the innovative software solution for its Green Hills Residential Care Service at East Maitland, which is set to be replaced by a flagship facility by the end of the year.

And when that happens, Whistle will already be on board to facilitate communications for staff and residents in the new 168-bed facility.

This follows its successful trial at the current site, which has been a feature of the Green Hills community for the past three decades.

The choice of Whistle to manage the communication needs of the new multilevel development follows a successful trial of the software, which is a purpose-built application for smart phones, developed in Australia.

“I’ve found it amazing,” is the verdict of Tracy Steele, who has been the service’s Business Administrator for the past five years. “And the staff are happy with it, because it makes their lives easier.”

Before the Whistle trial, staff were using DECT phones, which meant there was only one phone in each area of the Green Hills facility.

“I seemed to be forever running around the building chasing people with messages,” said Tracy. “For example, a call might come in from a family member of a resident wanting to collect a relative in 20 minutes.

“Under the old system, I had to go looking for someone to ensure the resident would be ready in time. With Whistle, every staff member has a phone with the app, which means I just have to hit the button on my phone to speak to the person I need. And because everyone now carries a mobile with the Whistle app, they can all contact anyone they need, whether it’s the maintenance department, the Registered Nurse or the manager.”

As well as admiring Whistle’s ease of use, Tracy has also been impressed by its designers’ willingness and ability to adapt it to meet specific needs.

“For example, we have Tai Chi and Yoga for residents,” she said. “When I mentioned this to the Whistle team, they quickly designed relevant icons that I can now send out with a message to indicate that the classes are about to start. Previously, we had to go around more than 50 rooms to remind people about the classes, but I can now just send a message to all the phones.”

The new facility is expected to be completed by September and fully functional by the end of the year once residents have been transferred and extra staff appointed.

“It's great timing for Whistle, because we’ve been able to ease it in,” said Tracy. “The existing staff know how to use it, and it’s so well-designed that its operation is really simple. When we move into the new building, these phones will be our saviour

As well as making life easier for staff and residents, Whistle has also earned a round of applause from the IT team tasked with deploying it at the Green Hills site

It’s been a good, easy integration for us,” said Fresh Hope Communities’ Chief Information Officer, Glen Hegner. “Nothing was too much trouble for the Whistle team, which made it easy for us to get through quickly and integrate with the existing nurse call system.”

“The Whistle team worked with us to get the new phones rolled out and also conducted the onsite training which helped to make the entire process fairly seamless. The onboarding was really the key to making it a success. Overall it was a quick turnaround for a solution that we’d been looking to put in for a long time.”

“As the Chief Information Officer, this is the type of partnership I’m looking for. We want vendors who will work with us, who will listen to our suggestions, as Whistle did, as to how they can enhance their product. Having that voice, and having a vendor respond so quickly, is very important to us and to all Whistle’s customers.”

While Green Hills is the first Fresh Hope Communities service to use Whistle, Glen is confident it will eventually become a familiar communication tool in the organisation’s aged care services across New South Wales.

“Our care staff are busy, they’ve got a lot on their plate, and this is one of the first tools that we’ve seen that is actually making their day to day work a bit easier, rather than harder,” Glen said.

“The feedback we’ve been getting from the Green Hills site is really good, and we’re planning to roll it out to all of our facilities in time.”