February 10, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ian Kitajima
Marketing Manager 808.531.3017 day 808.226.8805 eve
National Patient Safety Leader to Advise Star-Trek Sickbay Bed Creators
Honolulu, Hawaii – February 10, 2005 – Medical device maker Hoana Medical has announced that Brock Nelson, a national leader in hospital patient safety has been elected to the board of directors of Hoana Medical, Inc. Mr. Nelson is the President and CEO of Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota and brings over twenty-five years of experience in improving patient safety and care, while reducing hospital operating costs. Since May 2003, Mr. Nelson has been a director of Omnicell - a leading provider of patient safety solutions for healthcare. (NYSE: OMCL)
During his tenure as CEO of Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mr. Nelson initiated a patient safety agenda that led to the cover of U.S. News and World Report in July 2000, and eventually the prestigious National Patient Safety Award from the American Hospital Association in July 2002.
“Brock is a tremendous addition to an already stellar Hoana team,” said Dr. Patrick Sullivan, President & CEO of Hoana Medical. Dr. Sullivan continues, “Brock represents our Series B investors but more importantly, he adds a ‘customer’ perspective to the board. As a hospital executive who has focused on implementing patient safety initiatives throughout his career, - more -
1001 Bishop Street Pacific Tower, Suite 2828 Honolulu, HI 96813 Tel: 808.523-5410 Fax: 808.523-5480 info@hoana.com www.hoana.com
National Leader Joins Hoana Medical (page 2)
Brock brings vision, insight, and practical know-how that when combined with Hoana’s intelligent medical vigilance system will greatly improve patient safety and care, while reducing hospital operating costs and the liabilities of ‘failure to rescue’ events. “
“When I first heard about Hoana, it sounded like science fiction and reminded me of some of the science in Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, author of the DaVinci Code,” said Mr. Nelson. “But it’s no longer science fiction. Hoana could become a major leader for improving patient safety and care. And, for hospitals, Hoana could improve the bottom line because of improved quality of care and continuous monitoring of patients, which provides a 24/7 safety net for the hospitals”, Mr. Nelson continued.
In 2004, Hoana booked income of $1.5 million from ongoing VA Hospital clinical research. Since launching in January 2002, Hoana Medical has consistently met or exceeded its financing and operational milestones and has enjoyed a high level of interest from Hawaii, U.S. Mainland, and Asian investors.
Hoana’s first product, LIFEGuard™, which makes the Star Trek “sick bay” bed a reality, is a wireless sensing surface that continuously tracks vital signs and alarms nurses when patients are in distress. Hoana is in the business of saving lives and its first product targets the hospital general care floor where there is a severe nursing shortage problem. - more -
1001 Bishop Street Pacific Tower, Suite 2828 Honolulu, HI 96813 Tel: 808.523-5410 Fax: 808.523-5480 info@hoana.com www.hoana.com
National Leader Joins Hoana Medical (page 3)
The need for LIFEGuard™ is great. Eighty-five million aging “baby boomers” are taxing America’s healthcare system, a phenomena exacerbated by an epidemic nursing shortage of approximately 126,000 Registered Nurses, growing to over 800,000 by 2010. Growing hospital census rates with higher acuity levels, combined with fewer nurses has led to “tens of thousands of preventable hospital deaths,” according to Dennis O’Leary, President of JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), which evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. In a recently published study by HealthGrades, Lakewood, CO (July 2004), it was found that “an average of 195,000 people died in the U.S. due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001, 2002. Dr. Samantha Collier, HealthGrades’ VP of Medical Affairs states, “The equivalent of 390 jumbo jets full of people are dying each year due to likely preventable, in-hospital medical errors, making this one of the leading killers in the U.S.” In other words, from 2000 to 2002, “one in every four Medicare patients who were hospitalized…and [who] experienced a patient-safety incident, died.”
### NOTE TO EDITORS: Live demonstrations are available of Hoana’s LIFEGuard™ product which resembles the sickbay bed in Star Trek. Interviews can be scheduled with Brock Nelson and Dr. Patrick Sullivan, President & CEO.
1001 Bishop Street Pacific Tower, Suite 2828 Honolulu, HI 96813 Tel: 808.523-5410 Fax: 808.523-5480 info@hoana.com www.hoana.com
Hoana Medical, Inc., an Oceanit incubated spin off, provides intelligent medical vigilance using its patented PSA™ non-contact technology that (1) improves patient safety (2) enhances quality of care and (3) provides the hospital with a positive ROI. Hoana’s first product LIFEGuard™ specifically focuses on the acute care hospital’s general care floor.
LIFEGuard™
observes and analyzes the patient’s physiologic
condition, notifying and reporting to staff when a negative clinical trend is identified, specifically addressing the hospital’s risk of “failure to rescue.” With approximately $10 million in private equity and $9 million in Veteran’s Administration financing, clinical testing is ongoing at numerous private, university and military hospitals. Please visit www.hoana.com.
Oceanit, one of Hawaii's largest and most diversified multi-disciplinary science and engineering companies, focuses on Aerospace, Information Technology, Consulting Engineering, and the Life Sciences. Oceanit’s self-funded “idea factory” has had two major spin offs in the last 3 years and is proving to be a viable model to incubate innovative technologies. For additional information, please contact: Ian Kitajima at (808) 531-3017 or visit their website at www.oceanit.com.
1001 Bishop Street Pacific Tower, Suite 2828 Honolulu, HI 96813 Tel: 808.523-5410 Fax: 808.523-5480 info@hoana.com www.hoana.com