A dual band telemetry system useful for monitoring patients in a care unit of a health care facility. The system includes an antenna system with a first antenna tuned to receive a signal in a first frequency band, a second antenna tuned to receive a signal in a second frequency band, a down converter for producing a frequency translation signal, and a mixer coupled to the second antenna. The mixer combines the signal received by the second antenna with the frequency translation signal to produce a signal having a frequency in the first frequency band. A combiner coupled to the mixer and the first antenna combines the signal generated by the mixer with the signal received by the first antenna. The combined signals are ultimately delivered to a central station for processing.