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Success Story
How University Health went from 45-minute callbacks to real-time care with Zebra
Working with Zebra, University Health implemented an ecosystem of mobile computers and printers that puts the full scope of hospital operations into a device that fits in a nurse's pocket.
Zebra Success Story: University Health
Overview: Healthcare Challenge
University Health needed to equip nurses and clinical staff with a unified, mobile solution that removes their dependency on fixed workstations, enabling real-time communication, point-of-care documentation, and reliable patient verification at the bedside.
Benefits / Outcomes
- Scanning rates consistently above 90% across inpatient units
- Over 90% of staff across all inpatient units carry a Zebra device
- Wait times for provider callbacks reduced from 30–45 minutes to seconds
- Measurable reduction in hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) since implementing camera capture
About University Health
University Health in Kansas City never really slows down. As one of the region's busiest hospitals, on any floor, at any hour, multiple worlds run in parallel. A nurse prepares a patient for surgery, coordinating with pharmacy and lab teams. Clinicians monitor recovery after hip replacement. In maternity, a new family settles into its first hours together.
Running a hospital efficiently means orchestrating dozens of concurrent workflows, from medication administration and specimen collection to patient documentation and care coordination across every shift. Nurses are at the center of it all, in constant motion between patients, physicians, and departments.
For a long time, the technology meant to support them was fragmented and quietly worked against them. Nurses absorbed the cost.
University Health’s leaders refused to accept it. "We are a safety net hospital," says Chad Hackler, Director of Clinical Informatics at University Health. "We serve a very diverse population across a wide range of specialties, and we need top-of-the-line technology to take care of all of them."
Working with Zebra, the health system implemented an ecosystem of mobile computers and printers that puts the full scope of hospital operations into a device that fits in a nurse's pocket. Powered by Zebra, University Health has given its nurses the tools to stay where they are most needed—next to patients.
The Challenge
A hospital depends on constant coordination. Ten years ago, every communication meant a trip back to the station, making it the biggest bottleneck in care.
Reaching a provider meant paging them and waiting—sometimes 30 to 45 minutes—with no way to communicate beyond a callback number. "If you were at the bedside, you had to walk back, find the number, page the person, and wait," recalls Natalie Bowles, Senior Clinical Informaticist Analyst at University Health.
Clinical workflows were no simpler. Medication administration and specimen collection required dedicated hardware that was too bulky to carry, while Workstations on Wheels were heavy and cumbersome and required full disinfection each time before entering isolation rooms. As a result, nurses often resorted to workarounds instead of using the equipment as intended.
Wound documentation created its own chain of friction: track down the digital camera, hope it had batteries, take the photo, return to the docking station, print the image, handwrite a label, attach it to paper, add a patient sticker, file it in the chart. Every task had its own device, process, and detour from the bedside. At a certain point, completing a full set of clinical tasks required up to four separate devices, and even then, the workflows remained scattered.
"Essentially, if you wanted to do any documentation or communication, you were tied to the nurse's station," explains Bowles.
Zebra's mobile computers changed that. Pocket-sized, compliant, and purpose-built for clinical environments, they consolidated communication, documentation, and medication administration into one device nurses could carry anywhere. “It was a complete game-changer for us to have a device that covered so many different bases,” Bowles recalls.
We can really notice the advancement of Zebra technology in subsequent device versions. Zebra really listens to clinicians and has the best interest of the organization at heart.
The Solution
When Zebra mobile computers first arrived at University Health, nurses treated them primarily as communication tools—a smarter, faster replacement for the pager. But as familiarity grew, so did the scope of what the devices could do. Teams began integrating them into clinical workflows beyond communication such as medication administration, specimen collection, patient identification, wound documentation, and discharge coordination.
At the bedside, the device now handles the full clinical workflow in a single continuous motion. Nurses scan, verify, and document, covering medication administration and specimen collection, without doubling back to a workstation. Labels print at the point of care using Zebra ZQ600 Plus Series Mobile Printers. "Once we introduced Zebra mobile computers, our scanning rates climbed—now we're consistently above 90% on medication scanning rates," says Bowles.
In the neonatal unit, before a baby receives breast milk, a nurse scans the infant's wristband and the milk label with a handheld HC50, cross-checked instantly against the tracking system and health record. If everything matches, the feed goes ahead. The same verification logic applies to blood products and intravenous medication.
Nurses also photograph wounds and bony prominences directly from their device at admission, timestamp them, and attach them to the patient record instantly. "Since we implemented camera capture, we've seen a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure injuries," Bowles notes. "We've made it easier for nurses to document thoroughly, and that shows up in outcomes."
Discharge has accelerated, too. “A nurse used to have no way of knowing that a discharge order had been placed until they next checked the chart—sometimes 30 to 45 minutes later,” Hackler says. "Now, the alert arrives on the device the moment the order is placed."
Shift handoffs follow the same principle. When a nurse claims a room, all alerts for that patient follow them, whether the patient is trying to pull out an IV, get out of bed, or elope. When the shift ends, the next nurse claims the room and assumes those notifications. "There’s always someone getting those alerts in real time to ensure continuity of care and patient safety 24/7," Bowles explains.
The Zebra Difference: Outcome and Benefits
What began as a communication device has quietly become the backbone of University Health's operations.
Today, over 90% of inpatient staff carry a Zebra mobile computer—not just nurses, but also clinicians, social workers, case managers, and therapy teams. "We have almost ubiquitous adoption between both providers and nursing," Bowles shares. With that reach comes a different kind of care coordination, one where nurses can message a colleague for support, escalate to a physician in seconds, and monitor their patients without ever returning to the station.
The ecosystem improves safety at every level: through the verification checks governing medication administration and specimen collection, and through the closed-loop communication that keeps the entire care team informed in real time. "With Zebra, the dynamic between providers and nurses is significantly better," says Hackler. "By now, the devices have become the go-to for clinicians."
The hospital continues to modernize its fleet, introducing HC50s for high-acuity workflows and HC20 models for lighter use, balancing performance with cost efficiency. Trust in the technology grows with each new iteration. "We can really notice the advancement of Zebra technology in subsequent device versions," Hackler adds. "Zebra really listens to clinicians and has the best interest of the organization at heart."
That commitment to the people on the frontline, not just the technology they carry, is what University Health has come to rely on. The proof is in nurses who spend their shifts at the bedside rather than managing workflows. As Bowles puts it: "We want to do as much as we possibly can on these devices so we can put our nurses at the bedside, caring for patients."
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