Saint Barnabas Health Care System Deploys Datastream 7i Across Multiple Locations

New Jersey’s Largest Health Care Organization Uses Leading Asset Performance Management Solution to Manage Facilities and Stay in Compliance with Health Regulations

Greenville, S.C. - Aug. 24, 2004 – Datastream Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSTM) today announced that Saint Barnabas Health Care System, New Jersey’s largest integrated health care organization, is deploying the Web-architected Datastream 7i™ Asset Performance Management solution. Saint Barnabas is using Datastream 7i to manage its daily operations, update maintenance schedules and meet compliance requirements for state and federal health regulations. In addition, the company will use the Datastream 7i system to track capital expenditures for infrastructure management.

With approximately 23,000 employees, Saint Barnabas is the third largest private employer in New Jersey. Saint Barnabas has nine medical centers throughout the state and comprises several million square feet of medical, lab and office space, across more than 70 integrated healthcare entities. Saint Barnabas initially deployed Datastream 7i across six of its facilities with additional roll-outs expected over the next two years. The company is also beginning a pilot of Datastream 7i Mobile, a robust mobile version of Datastream 7i that functions with or without network connectivity. This enables workers to roam between connected and disconnected environments without having to worry about losing application performance. Saint Barnabas expects to reduce paperwork and see improved tracking for all types of hospital assets, such as beds, facilities and related equipment.

All New Jersey health care facilities must meet certain requirements set forth by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations (JCAHO), the New Jersey Department of Health and several other regulatory agencies relating to facilities operations and management. These requirements include performing monthly generator tests, inspection and service of life safety systems, and tracking and completing patient care-related work and maintenance. The Datastream 7i solution helps Saint Barnabas meet these requirements by tracking hospital assets, such as plant, patient and building equipment, and automating the scheduling of preventive maintenance.

“We evaluated several different industry solutions, and ultimately selected Datastream 7i because of its unique capabilities and extensive deployment success,” said Bill Cuthill, vice president of facilities management and construction at Saint Barnabas Health Care System. “Datastream 7i allows us to standardize our maintenance and operations across our facilities. The solution is easy to use and easy to configure, and it is the only one available that enables us to fully comply with critical health requirements. The Key Performance Indicator functionality of the product allows for instant real-time monitoring and performance assessment of critical systems as required by the user—a very unique and extremely useful feature.”

Datastream’s Web architecture allows Saint Barnabas to manage all of its hospitals under a single application. This enables the organization to standardize work order procedures and accurately track project time, as well as share best practices across locations. The company is using Requestor, an advanced module from Datastream that allows Saint Barnabas’ nurses and other employees to enter work requests for equipment or maintenance activities. Because they have access only to this specific feature, training on the full functionality of the Datastream 7i solution is unnecessary and work requests can be entered more easily and frequently.

“We’ve worked very closely with Saint Barnabas to include functionality in Datastream 7i that helps them comply with industry regulations,” said Larry Blackwell, president and CEO of Datastream Systems, Inc. “Datastream is an ideal fit for health care organizations like Saint Barnabas that want to effectively manage risk associated with critical equipment and complex facilities. Saint Barnabas is now improving efficiency and driving down operating costs, while at the same time delivering the finest health care services to its patients.”

About Datastream Systems, Inc.
Datastream Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSTM) provides Asset Performance Management software and services to enterprises worldwide, including more than 65 percent of the Fortune 500. Datastream’s solutions combine world-class asset management functionality with advanced analytics to deliver a powerful platform for optimizing enterprise asset performance.

By using Datastream’s solutions, customers can maintain and manage capital assets – such as manufacturing equipment, vehicle fleets and buildings – and create analyses and forecasts so they can take action to improve future performance. Datastream’s flagship product, Datastream 7i™, delivers a complete Asset Performance Management infrastructure by combining an Internet architecture with broad enterprise asset management functionality, integrated procurement, advanced analytics and multi-site capability.

Datastream was founded in 1986 and has customers in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit www.datastream.net.

 

 

Datastream and Datastream 7i are marks of Datastream Systems, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other products or Company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to:  increasing competition in the markets in which the Company competes; the stability of certain of the Company's strategic relationships, including those with suppliers of maintenance, repair and operations parts; the ability of the Company to: sell larger and more complex software solutions, successfully transition to the development of further Internet-based products, successfully implement an application service provider business model, enhance its current products and develop new products that address technological and market developments; and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including, but not limited to the "Risk Factors" contained in the Company's Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003. The Company does not have, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to release publicly any updates or any changes in the Company's expectations or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based.