Hospital patient communication system for hallway beds with integrated emergency alerts and two-way voice communication

A method of providing patient-initiated communication in a hospital hallway environment lacking a fixed nurse call system, the method comprising:

• positioning a patient on a patient support apparatus located in a hallway or other non-room area of a healthcare facility;
• mechanically coupling a wireless call light device to the patient support apparatus, the wireless call light device comprising a processor, memory, a communication portal, a call initiation control, a speaker, a microphone, an indicator light, and a power source;
• assigning, by the processor, a device identifier corresponding to the hallway patient support apparatus and storing the device identifier in the memory;
• receiving patient input at the wireless call light device via at least one of actuation of the call initiation control or voice input captured by the microphone;
• processing the patient input using the processor to generate a standardized assistance event corresponding to the patient input;
• transmitting, via the communication portal, the standardized assistance event and the device identifier to a receiving system remote from the hallway location;
• illuminating the indicator light on the wireless call light device in response to generation of the standardized assistance event and maintaining the indicator light in an illuminated state until receipt of an authorized reset command;
• placing the wireless call light device into a latched call state that suppresses subsequent patient input until the authorized reset command is received;
• enabling two-way audio communication between the patient and hospital personnel via the speaker and the microphone;
• and
• terminating the latched call state and extinguishing the indicator light in response to receipt of the authorized reset command after the assistance request has been addressed.