End-To-End Data Network Leads Hospital's Commitment To Patient Care

By Karla Paris

One of the largest county hospitals in Oklahoma is expanding its emergency department and transitioning to a McKesson Electronic Health Record (EHR) system with the help of Brocade.

Comanche County Memorial Hospital (Comanche) recently announced it has partnered with Brocade to deploy a new high-performance end-to-end data center network. The new data center network is expected to increase its network capacity and create a fully redundant network architecture that scales to meet future data and device demands.

With the construction of a new 36-bed emergency department, slated for completion in spring 2015, Comanche will be able to offer the best available technology, including telemedicine carts. The carts will enable the new emergency department to respond to patient health needs faster by making data accessible anywhere in the facility.

The demands of this new department – plus an urgent need for improvements in storage capacity, backup capabilities, and data center efficiency – initially brought Comanche to Brocade. The new infrastructure almost immediately delivered a tenfold increase in network capacity while creating a fully redundant network architecture that could scale to meet the hospital's future needs.

Comanche, which is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the Council on Accrediting Rehabilitation Facilities, specializes in major and minor healthcare services, including obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, neurology, orthopedic, surgical, family, rehabilitation, and emergency services.

Currently, the hospital employs more than 1,500 staff members and 250 physicians who required a network solution that would enable a broader set of patient services, increased delivery speed of patient care, and extended communication services to emergency rooms and other hospital facilities. With a 20 Gigabit Ethernet network backbone, the hospital can support the latest advances in telemedicine and radiology, while implementing cost-saving business applications such as Voice over IP.

The hospital and the network are on track for future growth that will enhance the comprehensive healthcare services available to residents in Southwest Oklahoma. By combining the personal care patients want with state-of-the-art technologies and facilities, Comanche County Memorial Hospital is maintaining its long tradition of excellence in healthcare and continuing to enhance the quality of life for its community.

Source: Marketwired