WASHINGTON COUNTY, MD - At one hospital in the four-state region, hi-tech equipment is helping nurses get back to the core of patient care.

Washington County Hospital is using state-of the art nursing carts to allow nurses to upload patient information before they ever leave a patient's room.

The new carts have three different forms of mobile computer software.

In the past, all of the nurses on a floor shared just two standard carts.  Now each nurse has their own hi-tech cart, which saves time and helps eliminate employee error in patient care.

"It's just right at the bedside.  We chart as soon as we assess, and it's just point and click.  It just takes a lot less time so we can do more patient care instead of charting," explained Mindy, Haluska, R.N. at Washington County Hospital.

Other new technology is also making it easier for hospital phlebotomy specialists.  With a new hand-held scanning device called the Mobilab, keeping track of patient information is easier than ever.

Karen Buhrman, a phlebotomy supervisor, said, "It could mean minutes for each patient, just having everything more efficient and at our fingertips."

As the Mobilab gains popularity at hospitals throughout four-state region, Washington County Hospital's hi-tech carts are some of the first of their kind.

The company that makes the carts is using Washington County Hospital as a prototype for national conferences.

The entire hospital will use the carts later this spring.