Kennedy Health System
Expanding a Health System’s Arteries
With multiple facilities across three counties in southern New Jersey, Kennedy Health System must rely on its network infrastructure to deliver vital data reliably and efficiently. The failure of doing so can jeopardize the safety of its patients. Not only does Kennedy carry these high standards of healthcare at its three major hospitals, but the same values are transplanted at each of its 28 locations.
New technologies call for a new network.
To improve its quality of service to patients, Kennedy recently installed a picture archiving communication system (PACS) and a neurosurgery center, two technologically intensive elements that dramatically increase the health system’s ability to process information via Internet protocol (IP). Along with the benefits, an issue was raised since these multimedia and IP-based services are data intensive and require increased bandwidth to handle the large files that are to be transported and stored across network infrastructure.
“Healthcare is moving in a direction that is focused on the sharing of patient medical history, images, and video so that they can receive better care,” said Mike Archer, assistant vice president of network service for Kennedy Health System. “By providing these services, we are improving our patient care and our capabilities for our employees.”
Fiber optics revives the network.
The need for additional, scalable network connectivity led Kennedy to seek out service providers that would be able to fulfill its bandwidth requirements while remaining cost efficient. The organization chose to work with Fibertech Networks, not only because the fiber optics service provider’s solutions helped to meet cost requirements, but for also providing network services that exceeded the health system’s expectations.
With a 350-mile fiber optic network footprint in and around the Philadelphia and southern New Jersey region, Fibertech’s network has the ability to provide customers with environments that grant the security and reliability of the core network, as well as shared colocation space with the company’s core backbone. This allows the company to pass cost savings onto customers by connecting them to additional networks and carriers.
“With the ability to transport medical images such as MRIs, CAT scans, and digital x-rays from hospitals to outpatient clinics or medical labs, this network builds on our commitment to building the hospital of the future, where every patient will get the best care possible delivered to them every time,” added Archer.
Broadband arteries are expanded.
Receiving them from Fibertech, Kennedy now has diversely routed gigabit Ethernet circuits in a ring topology with dual entrances into each of its five major facilities. It also now has a dark fiber connection to a major data center in Philadelphia allowing the organization to control its Internet connectivity and provide network diversity with third-party long distance carriers.
“We are in total control of our network while decreasing our costs and increasing the bandwidth available for patient data,” said Archer. “Fibertech has provided us with a scalable foundation for delivering multimedia and high-speed data and Internet services, in line with our continued focus on providing the best and most cost-effective patient care."
(L-R) Anil Nair, MD, neurosurgery; Robert H. Rosenwasser, MD, FACS, FAHA, chief of neurosurgery; and Ethan A. Benardete, MD, PhD, division director of neurosurgery.
"Fibertech has provided us with a scalable foundation for delivering multimedia and high-speed data and Internet services, in line with our continued focus on providing the best and most cost-effective patient care."
Mike Archer, Assistant Vice President of Network Service