Will-Call Empowers Resident at Malley Transitional Care Center with Safe, Reliable Call Access
How a voice-activated solution solved an everyday safety challenge for a resident with limited reach
Clinician Profile
Kristin Kirt, OTR, is an Occupational Therapist at Malley Transitional Care Center in Northglenn, Colorado. With a hands-on approach to problem solving, Kristin led the effort to find a better nurse call solution for a resident whose physical needs made traditional call buttons ineffective and unreliable.
Facility Overview
Malley Transitional Care Center is a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility offering short-term recovery and long-term care. The team supports a wide range of medical conditions requiring adaptive solutions. When one resident faced ongoing challenges with standard call light systems, Kristin took action.
The Clinical Challenge
The resident had difficulty reaching and activating the traditional nurse call button due to limited mobility. The team had experimented with multiple button styles and mounting positions, but they encountered two persistent problems:
The button had to be positioned just right; close enough for the resident to reach, yet far enough to avoid accidental presses.
Even with adjustments, staff often had to make repeated attempts to get the setup working reliably.
This created ongoing frustration for both staff and the resident, and presented a safety risk during times when help was needed but the call system wasn’t accessible.
Finding Will-Call
Kristin came across Will-Call while searching online for a more effective solution. She reached out through the Test Drive program and coordinated directly with the Will-Call support team to ensure compatibility with Malley’s nurse call setup.
The nurse call system in use was an Elite Care Group (ECG) wall plate, identified by its distinctive reset station with ¼-inch jack. Although the jack was slightly longer than average, the team resolved this with an adapter cable, allowing Will-Call to interface seamlessly with the system.
Setup and Adjustments
Kristin’s team took extra care to optimize the device for their resident:
Microphone Substitution: The initial microphone setup had issues picking up the resident’s voice due to room noise and ventilator interference. A longer, more sensitive microphone was sourced and repositioned closer to the resident’s head.
Sensitivity Calibration: The device was tested and adjusted to ensure consistent performance—even with loud music or TV playing nearby.
Placement Tweaks: Velcro was used to mount the unit to the wall for stability and accessibility.
Despite initial challenges, Will-Call was fully operational within days and required no major technical overhaul or IT support.
Results and Impact
After just one week of use, both the resident and staff reported excellent results. According to Kristin:
“We have never come across a problem we couldn’t solve, but when we needed another form of call system for our patient with ALS, this was different. Will-Call was exactly what we were looking for.”
The resident described Will-Call as “life-changing”, noting that he wished more patients in similar situations had access to this kind of solution.
Technical Overview: Adaptive Integration with Legacy Systems
The Will-Call system was adapted to work with an Elite nurse call wall plate using a ¼-inch mono jack with a slight extension. No internal system changes were needed. The device runs offline, requires no Wi-Fi, and is powered by a low-voltage adapter. Microphone extension and placement customization allowed the resident to use voice commands reliably, even in a noisy environment.
Conclusion
This case exemplifies how simple, adaptive technology like Will-Call can fill critical gaps in care—especially for patients who fall between the cracks of traditional solutions. With persistence and collaboration, Kristin and her team delivered a voice-activated nurse call system that worked exactly as needed, bringing relief, confidence, and improved safety to a patient in their care.
Learn More
Explore how Will-Call can integrate with a variety of nurse call systems at will-call-nurse.com