Will-Call Transforms Care for Julie at Oak Hill Nursing Home
Caregiver Profile
Jodi, a devoted daughter and primary advocate for her mother Julie, resides in the Midwest. Facing increasing concerns over her mother’s care and comfort, she became a determined caregiver figure in navigating complex healthcare technology solutions. Jodi played a pivotal role in testing, deploying, and iterating Will-Call at Julie’s nursing facility.
Patient Background
Julie is a resident at Oak Hill Nursing Home, a long-term care facility recognized for its attentive staff and commitment to person-centered care. Julie suffers from corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare neurodegenerative disease that severely affects movement, speech, and motor planning. The condition has rendered her left arm and both legs non-functional, with her right hand only minimally responsive. As a result, traditional nurse call systems with manual buttons were not viable.
Image of daughter using Will-Call for her mother. Image for illustration purpose only
How They Discovered Will-Call
Jodi came across Will-Call through an online search that led her to a CBS News segment featured on the official website (will-call-nurse.com). The segment detailed how Will-Call enabled voice-activated access to standard nurse call systems. Seeing its potential, Jodi enrolled Julie into the Test Drive program, hoping the system could restore a critical lifeline for her mother.
Facility Overview: Oak Hill Nursing Home
Oak Hill Nursing Home provides specialized care to individuals with advanced neurodegenerative conditions. The facility operates with a centralized nurse call infrastructure, which previously relied on standard push-button alert systems. For patients like Julie, this posed a serious limitation, leading to episodes of distress and a diminished sense of autonomy.
Medical Challenge and the Need for Will-Call
Julie’s corticobasal degeneration severely limits her voluntary motor control. Traditional nurse call buttons were unusable, leaving her unable to summon help independently. During one critical incident, Julie dropped her standard call light and spent over an hour trying to locate it. This incident caused significant distress, both for Julie and Jodi. The emotional toll of helplessness was compounded by safety risks.
Will-Call emerged as the only feasible solution: a voice-activated system capable of triggering the nurse call interface without physical interaction. The ability to call for help using simple voice commands gave Julie back a fundamental right—autonomy.
System Integration and Custom Adjustments
The deployment of Will-Call in Julie’s room required targeted adjustments to ensure compatibility with the existing nurse call infrastructure and her physical environment. The facility uses the Ascom Telligence Nurse Call System, which accepts a ¼-inch mono plug to interface with standard call cords.
To accommodate Julie's condition and room layout, several custom accessories were integrated:
¼-Inch Extension Cable: A high-quality mono extension cable was used to reposition the Will-Call output jack away from the wall-mounted nurse call station. This provided flexibility in system placement and ensured secure, uninterrupted connectivity with the console.
Microphone Relocation Setup: The built-in microphone on the Will-Call unit was extended and repositioned near Julie’s headboard to accurately capture low-volume voice commands, despite her diminished vocal strength.
This modular setup allowed Will-Call to plug directly into the Telligence system without requiring proprietary adapters or electrical modifications. The end result was a voice-activated nurse call interface that functioned reliably within Oak Hill’s clinical communication environment.
Technical Overview: Plug-and-Play Simplicity with Will-Call
Will-Call is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing nurse call systems, offering a true plug-and-play solution with no IT infrastructure requirements. In Julie’s case, the unit was connected directly to the Telligence Nurse Call System using a ¼-inch mono plug, which mimics a standard call light button press.
The device runs entirely offline - no Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or network connectivity is required, making it ideal for deployment in hospital and skilled nursing environments with strict IT and security protocols. It draws power from a standard hospital-grade wall outlet using a low-voltage adapter, and begins functioning immediately upon being plugged in.
Telligence Nurse Call System setup in Julie’s room at Oakhill Nursing Home
Will-Call uses a pre-configured voice command interface, allowing patients to trigger a call for help using a simple spoken phrase. The microphone position can be easily adjusted to accommodate a patient’s range of voice and mobility use the extension accessories. No additional staff training and the system can typically be installed and operational in under 5 minutes.
Utilization in Daily Care
Julie uses Will-Call to initiate nurse call alerts by speaking a predetermined phrase, “I need help”. The microphone was positioned for optimal voice pickup, enabling her to trigger the system without requiring movement or redirection. This voice-activated interaction became her primary method for requesting care, particularly during nighttime when staff rounds were less frequent.
Impact and Outcomes
The emotional and functional impact was immediate. Jodi described a noticeable reduction in Julie’s anxiety, especially during moments when she previously felt isolated or unable to communicate. For Julie, the restoration of autonomy directly translated into improved emotional well-being and increased safety.
The system integrated into the facility’s existing nurse call infrastructure without requiring additional hardware or complex configuration, minimizing disruption to staff routines. Most importantly, the solution empowered a previously voiceless patient to reclaim a vital aspect of daily life—control.
Conclusion
Will-Call proved to be the only viable nurse call solution for a patient with advanced corticobasal degeneration. Through technical flexibility and patient-centered iteration, it became a critical communication bridge for Julie and her caregivers.
Jodi’s advocacy, paired with a responsive deployment process, exemplifies how modern medtech can close care gaps in even the most complex neurological cases. Will-Call is more than a device. It’s a lifeline for patients who need an accessible, reliable way to call for help when traditional methods fall short
Learn More
To see how Will-Call can empower your care team and patients, visit will-call-nurse.com.
Hear From Jodi: A Daughter’s Perspective
“She would get a lot of anxiety when she couldn’t call the nurse… and now that we’re able to use Will-Call, it’s just been such a huge blessing for our family.”