A monitoring device having a signal receiver, a pseudo-ground, a digital processor and a transceiver, the signal receiver having an ability to receive a sensed signal representing a patient vital sign, the pseudo-ground having an ability to generate a baseline signal that is compared with the sensed signal, the transceiver having an ability to wirelessly transmit a processed signal from the digital processor to a base station or a wireless gateway and to receive an incoming signal from the base station or the wireless gateway, and the digital processor having an ability to process the sensed signal and the incoming signal locally within the monitoring device is disclosed.