Surgical Safety Products, Inc. and United States Surgical Sign 400 Hospital Distribution Agreement
SARASOTA, Fla. and NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 1999--Surgical Safety Products, Inc. (OTC BB: SURG) and United States Surgical, a division of Tyco Healthcare, announced today an agreement to place the OASiS Touch-Access Information system in 400 hospitals across the United States. The deployment of these educational Internet devices for healthcare workers will begin almost immediately. More than 100 of U.S. Surgical's advanced surgical instruments will be featured on the system.
SURG Chairman G. Michael Swor, MD commented on the concept of providing critical information in clinical settings. "We are teaming with the strongest organizations in the healthcare industry to set up an industry-focused, internet-based information portal which can be expanded and customized to meet the ever growing and changing needs of healthcare." Swor continued: "Finally healthcare and industry have a direct link...we are helping hospital administration, workers and medical industry to `talk' to each other and work together to improve the efficiency and quality of patient care."
OASiS will be used by U.S. Surgical to educate and train doctors, nurses, and technologists on the proper use of more than 140 instruments. The system will allow "on-demand" information for instant education on these devices. The clinical worker will select educational topics from a list that includes devices from U.S. Surgical and other companies.
U.S. Surgical President Larry Heaton II added: "We are very excited about the opportunities offered by the OASiS Touch-Access Information System. We believe this is a timely solution for busy healthcare professionals who want immediate, convenient and accurate product information. Placement in the Operating Room offers every healthcare professional, especially for surgeons and surgical nurses, twenty-four hour access to internet-based education. This is a natural fit with U.S. Surgical's longstanding commitment to education and innovation in support of our surgical products for the Operating Room."
U.S. Surgical first tested this innovative concept with SURG in a 10 hospital collaborative agreement last winter. As evidenced by this new contract, the response was extremely positive. Don Lawrence, Vice President Sales and Marketing for SURG said: "Both SURG and U.S. Surgical received overwhelming response to the initial rollout. It was instantly recognized as a needed service and a unique approach to providing critical information."
One of the hospitals in the collaborative agreement was Partners AtlantiCare in Lynn, Massachusetts, where Jeannie Nevins, RN has administered the OASiS system. "In this age of cost containment, particularly in the area of education, OASiS is a hospital's best friend. It gives me up-to-date product information, disseminates this information to my clinical staff and provides continuous inservicing to all shifts."
Surgical Safety Products, Inc. is the originator and marketer of OASiS Touch-Access Information, an industry leader in providing touch-enabled information to hospitals. OASiS is an information delivery and collection service for healthcare workers. Consisting of an Internet device and multimedia software, it is an information network between hospitals, their staffs, healthcare industry companies and others.
Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. This includes, without limitation, statements related to product demand, pricing, market acceptance, economic conditions, risks with technological development, the ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms, and other risks identified in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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