Life safety wireless systems manufacturer is the first to meet the increasing demand for standards-based emergency call system components in senior living settings.

LOUISVILLE, Colo., March 3, 2014 –Inovonics, a leading provider of enterprise life safety and specialized commercial wireless systems, today announced that its EchoStream emergency call system components have received the industry’s first certification under ANSI/UL Standard 2560, Emergency Call Systems for Assisted and Independent Living Facilities. As the first security life safety provider to meet this standard, operators of senior living communities can expect ANSI/UL 2560 certified systems from Inovonics’ partner OEM’s in the near future. This will provide residents and property owners with greater comfort knowing they are using and have selected standards-based emergency call system hardware and software, and that the installation and testing conforms to a specified set of performance criteria to ensure a safe and reliable operation.

Assisted and Independent Living Borrow a Standards-based Approach From Previous Lessons Learned

For decades, skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes have required the use of a listed nurse call system that complies with ANSI/UL 1069, “Standard for Hospital Signaling and Nurse Call Equipment.” First published in 1974, this standard was designed specifically for the unique requirements of acute care settings and has served that segment of the market well. With the number of assisted and independent living (non-acute care) resident units approaching that of nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, according to the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) Investment Guide published in fourth quarter 2011, the time was right to strengthen the industry’s focus on this growing need. Prior to the publication of ANSI/UL 2560, there were no performance or safety requirements defined as a consensus standard for emergency call systems used in non-acute care settings. The ANSI/UL 2560 standard was created at the request of the National Electrical Manufacturers' Association (NEMA) to address the unique requirements of this growing segment of the senior living market. It provides state and local authorities with a thorough framework for ensuring the efficacy of such systems. ANSI/UL 2560 also recognizes the improvements of wireless technology and its role in providing assisted and independent living residents with greater mobility.

Inovonics and Its Partners Are Leading the Way

“Now that a standard has been created for assisted and independent living communities, we anticipate that state and local authorities will increasingly adopt ANSI/UL 2560 to provide assurance that these systems perform as designed and expected,” said Mark Jarman, president of Inovonics. “As an organization that is committed to being at the forefront of commercial wireless solutions for life safety, this certification demonstrates our ongoing commitment to standards-based wireless deployments, and that Inovonics’ EchoStream technology is capable of withstanding the rigors and scrutiny of compliance testing.” “ANSI/UL 2560 creates a baseline standard uniquely designed for non-acute care,” added Todd Stanley, senior product manager at Inovonics. “Our goal in leading the life safety industry is continuous improvement and advancement. When we realized that ANSI/UL 2560 is the direction in which the industry was headed, we wanted to be the first wireless provider with a compliant solution that our partners could quickly implement. Our aim is to make the certification process for our partner OEM’s as easy as possible by offering a ‘ready to deploy’ solution.” Several of Inovonics’ partners have already begun their efforts to provide fully approved, ANSI/UL 2560 certified emergency call systems which include the compliant wireless infrastructure from Inovonics, Stanley noted. Contact Inovonics’ senior living partners.