Case Study: Cambridge Health Alliance achieves rapid, campus-wide emergency notification with Alertus Technologies

The Search for A Comprehensive Emergency Notification System

Cambridge Health Alliance, an urban medical center in Cambridge, MA with three hospital campuses, 65 buildings and roughly 3,276 staff on site (about 6,000 staff and contractors system‑wide), needed a more robust emergency mass notification system after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings exposed failures in phone and text communications. The organization sought a solution to quickly reach clinical and nonclinical personnel during fast‑moving incidents, harsh winter weather and site‑specific emergencies such as Code Pink infant abductions.

Alertus Technologies deployed its Alertus system—including wall‑mounted Alert Beacons, Alertus Desktop Notification and a text‑to‑speech paging module—integrated with the medical center’s overhead paging and desktop environment. The result: facility‑wide notifications that previously could take up to 45 minutes via email now reach staff in seconds, significant reductions in paging delays, immediate full‑screen alerts for imminent threats, and faster coordinated responses across campuses. Cambridge Health Alliance reports improved situational awareness and more reliable, timely communication thanks to Alertus.

Cambridge Health Alliance

Joyce Mullane

Director of telecommunications