General Dynamics gets Army hospital call system work

General Dynamics Corp. won a $1.1 million contract from the Army Corps of Engineers to design and install a nurse call system at Bassett Army Community Hospital at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The system will let nursing staff communicate with patients in real time and, in so doing, increase outreach and response and reduce the use of the public address system.

It also will enhance patient safety under Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requirements, and facilitate patient privacy by limiting the number of people involved with confidential communications, as recommended by the Health Insurance portability and Accountability Act.

General Dynamics Network Systems of Needham, Mass., will establish the hospital's nurse call system. The company expects to complete the work in August.

This is the third contract awarded to General Dynamics by the Army Corps of Engineers for IT support at this hospital, bringing the company's total work there to more than $3.1 million. General Dynamics also provides voice switch services under the Long Term Life Cycle Support program, as part of a contract awarded last year.

General Dynamics of Falls Church, Va., has about 72,200 employees and had annual revenue of $21.2 billion in fiscal 2005. The company ranks No. 5 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.