The Good Samaritan Society replaces Arel computers in 200 long-term healthcare centers with new interactive Communication And Distance Education system-CADE
The Good Samaritan Society has launched the Distance Learning Network to broadcast interactive programs for long-term healthcare. Courses and communications programs will be broadcast via satellite with audio and data interaction through the Internet. The new Communications And Distance Education (CADE) system has replaced the existing Arel computers in 200 centers throughout the US.
(PRWEB) April 12, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Stephen D. Ricketts, President
Velocedge, Inc.
1726 Stonebridge Dr. South
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(734) 213-2363 fax: (734) 213-2351
Steve@Velocedge. com
Http://www. Velocedge. com (http://www. Velocedge. com)
The Good Samaritan Society replaces Arel computers in 200 long-term healthcare centers with new interactive Communication And Distance Education system-CADE
Sioux Falls, South Dakota – April 10, 2002 -- The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the largest not-for-profit long-term healthcare provider in the United States, today announced that it replaced the Arel computers in its satellite-based Distance Learning Network with the new interactive Communication And Distance Education (CADE) system from Velocedge. CADE reduces cost and provides improved audio, video, and data interactivity over the Internet. The Distance Learning Network delivers over 200 interactive skills training, Continuing Education Unit (CEU), and degree completion programs to broad range of long-term healthcare professionals. It also provides senior management with an interactive corporate communication tool to reach its 21,000 employees across the country.
"Cost is a major factor for long-term healthcare companies," said Sonia Bury, Director of Learning Services. "The cost of the CADE system was far less than what we were paying for annual maintenance alone! It doesn't require special hardware so it can be loaded on our existing PCs and since students talk live over the Internet, it let us get rid of the required telephone line. We have small centers where a nurse might participate at a computer and large centers where learners use wireless remote controls in a classroom to interact with the instructor. In addition to live programs, we also broadcast pre-recorded courses. CADE runs unattended with pre-recorded programs and issues questions just as if it were live. While learners can't talk on-air we still take attendance, collect student responses, and allow them to record audio questions to the instructor. They can hear the answer later by just logging on to the CADE Learning Management Web."
The CADE Learning Management Web supports the CADE interactive distance learning tools by creating an on-line repository for all learning activity. It tracks not only a learner's progress in the Distance Learning Network but the student's participation in courses at colleges, universities, or other outside sources. All information in the CADE system is created and maintained through the Internet using a standard browser. The CADE Learning Management Web recognizes an individualsÂ’s role, administrator, developer, instructor, site coordinator, or student and presents them with a set of capabilities specifically for that role.
"We are pleased with CADE's performance since its installation in July of 2001," said Neal Eddy, Vice President for Learning and Strategic Integration for the Good Samaritan Society. "CADE will allow us to expand our capabilities and share the benefits of the Distance Learning Network with other long-term healthcare providers. Yes, even our competitors. With the economic pressures in long-term healthcare today, we need to find creative ways to cut costs. We believe that collaboration in non-competitive areas like training help us all not only to survive, but prosper in today's environment. We are actively seeking partners to join us and expand the utilization and content of the Distance Learning Network."
"OneTouch is a distance learning product born of the 80's, Arel a product of the 90's," said Stephen Ricketts, President of Velocedge. "CADE is an interactive distance learning and communication system born of the 21st century. With its software-only approach, CADE incorporates many of the latest Internet driven technologies: digital audio, voice over IP, streaming audio and video, automated components, and wireless communication. It combines these technologies with a unique understanding of the industry and a business proposition much better suited to today's economic environment."
About Velocedge, Inc.
Velocedge's founder helped pioneer interactive distance learning using satellite broadcast, OneTouch products, and the Internet as early as 1994 through first a collaborative project and later a collaborative venture with organizations that included the Department of Commerce, Cadkey, EDS, Ford, General Motors, Goodyear, Hughes, Kodak, Lockheed Martin, NIST, Texas Instruments, U. S. Air Force, and a others under the auspice of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. Velocedge has embodied this broad experience and its knowledge of advanced software development and communication networks into its interactive distance communication software and services.
For more information on Velocedge, contact Stephen D. Ricketts, President
E-Mail: Help@Velocedge. com, Phone: 734-213-2363, web: http://www. velocedge. com (http://www. velocedge. com)
About The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society
The Good Samaritan Society began serving communities in the early 1920s with $2,000 and a mission to help others in need. The first center opened in a six-room home in Arthur, N. D., in 1923. The Society later grew from providing services to physically and mentally handicapped persons to providing services to elders and others with special needs. Today the Society operates facilities in 25 states, and serves more than 28,000 residents. The mission of The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society is to share God's love in word and deed by providing shelter and supportive services to older persons and others in need, believing that "In Christ's Love, Everyone Is Someone."
For more information on The Good Samaritan Society, contact Mr. Neal Eddy,
E-mail: NEddy@good-sam. com, Phone: 605-362-3122, web: http://DLN. good-sam. com (http://DLN. good-sam. com)
###
