Our hospital makes the switchboard staff do 8 different things besides answering the phones, and at any one time they are ignoring at least 6 things they can't do all at once, and there is no way in ... heck ... the nurses are going to be a personal answering service for the patients - all of our rooms have DID numbers in them, and I stopped blocking long distance on them because our LD rates are so low now it's not worth the hassle. I've actually been trying to get rid of default patient room phones and have them placed only by request. Most people prefer to use their cell phones anyway, and people know those numbers. Also less of them get broken, and it's easier on the housekeepers (except they whine because they have to sweep around the cords)...
Don Bruechert, Voice Comm Analyst II
CareTech Solutions @ Holy Family Memorial
Manitowoc, WI, USA