New app helps patients navigate hospital facilities

Thompson Health's wayfinding app guides patients to their destinations.

Wayfinding options in hospitals are ex­panding. The new, free wireless app for use at Thompson Health, Canandaigua, N.Y., which is about 30 miles from Rochester, is a perfect example.

The new app guides patients and visitors from their homes or any place of origin, to the hospital's parking lot and finally to the correct entry at the hospital.

After entering the hospital, the application guides patients and visitors to the correct elevator and then helps them navigate the hallways on a turn-by-turn basis to reach their destination efficiently.

"We're excited about it because, as far as we know, it's the only health care app that's been developed for a specific hospital," says Randy Cooper, president, Cooper Signage and Graphics, Logan­ville, Ga. Cooper co-developed the app — called "Squire" — with Dave Stewart, who serves as regional manager/IT development director at the company.

To promote Squire, Thompson Health will display Quick Response (QR) codes on the hospital's website and touchscreen kiosks as well as in ads and other literature, says Stewart. "The smart phone's QR reader will take the user to the proper site to download the app," he explains.

The company plans to start marketing the app nationally for health care facilities and systems of all sizes, says Stewart. He and Cooper expect a growing number of hospitals to install the necessary Wi-Fi to enable Squire to operate at full effectiveness.