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Bethel, Connecticut is a small New England town located in northern Fairfield County. It’s known for its communal atmosphere and preserving a feeling of togetherness, which is exactly why the Bethel Visiting Nurse Association (BVNA) turned to some unique technology to keep its patients feeling secure and taken care of. Specifically, the BVNA – which provides home health services to patients from prenatal to end-of-life care – invested in Panasonic’s (News - Alert) Toughbook mobile computers for continued success.

In a recent company blog, Panasonic explained that in doing so, the “Bethel VNA staff [was provided] with a reliable computing solution to support their daily routine as home health clinicians.”

“In-home healthcare especially, digitizing patient records and adopting a reliable mobile healthcare technology solution are essential. Home health workers are constantly on the move, accessing real-time patient data and streamlining the flow of information to an EMR/EHR (Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record), so it is imperative that clinicians have the ability to collaborate,” the company continued.

The organization was looking to transition from pen and paper to a fully digital solution, and found Panasonic’s esteemed toughbooks were the perfect solution to help them do so. “Initially in 2005, the BVNA deployed the Panasonic Toughbook T-series of laptops. After years of positive experience with those models, it began working with the Toughbook C1 convertible tablet, which is built to withstand drops, bumps and spills. Nurses can now carry the device without fear of a device failure on account of inclement weather or an accidental drop while moving from one patient’s home to the next,” the company concludes.

Recently, Panasonic also revealed its two newest toughpads at this year’s CES (News - Alert) 2013 show. The Toughpad FZ-G1 is a 10-inch tablet featuring Windows 8 Pro, while the second, the JT-B1, is a seven-inch Android-powered unit. Both devices follow the original 10-inch Android (News - Alert)-powered Toughpad FZ-A1, which became widely available late last year.

Rugged technology has clearly proven itself a necessary, flexible and beneficial addition to fit a variety of company and individual user’s needs – from mountain climbing to traveling to care for at-home patients in a small CT hometown.