OSF HealthCare Innovator of the Year is championing smart hospital rooms
A veteran occupational therapist at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center is the 2024 OSF Innovator of the Year.
Katie Willerton, an occupational therapist at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center has received the OSF HealthCare 2024 Innovator of the Year award. Willerton helped to pilot a smart room that would empower patients to use voice-activated tools to independently control comfort settings in their rooms. This pilot has the potential to improve patient experience and Mission Partner (employee) efficiency.
Willerton received the award during an annual Innovation Academic Incubator (IAI) symposium at the Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center.
The Innovator of the Year Award is an annual honor that recognizes individuals who are advancing our vision of transforming health care. These Mission Partners:
- Spearhead transformative change aligned with the Mission and Vision of OSF
- Bring forward new ideas and invest time in exploring novel approaches
- Demonstrate a proactive approach in fostering partnerships to revolutionize health care
- And solve complex challenges internally and within the broader community
“With nearly 30 years of experience at OSF, Katie has seen firsthand how patients suffering from new neurological injuries can feel anxious or isolated as they struggle to control their environment,” Chief Strategy Officer & CEO of OSF OnCall Michelle Conger explained in recognizing Willerton. “Katie’s work to build and pilot a smart room empowers patients to manage their comfort levels by connecting to HIPAA-compliant, voice-activated products. Her effort creates opportunities for new partnerships between OSF and health care tech start-ups and has potential to create a better patient experience during their hospital stay.”
I look forward to relieving the anxiety and stress for patients with neurological conditions that challenge them to execute tasks such as turning on their television or adjusting the temperature in their hospital room. I believe we should leverage existing technology to make their environment in the hospital comfortable and easy to navigate while also giving nurses the ability to focus strictly on hands-on care.
Willerton says her passion is helping patients and she can't wait to continue working with OSF Innovation to implement her vision, beginning with testing voice activation technology as a replacement for the traditional nurse call light. Eventually she hopes to give patients easy option for also controlling room temperature and their hospital room TV as well.
The veteran occupational therapist was among five finalists for this year’s Innovator of the Year award.