Redundancy Case Study
Rouge Valley Health System
Rouge Valley Health System is an innovative leader in quality family centred care, with programs including 24/7/365 emergency, cardiac care, mental health and paediatrics. Rouge Valley consists of several health sites, including two community hospitals: Rouge Valley Centenary, in east Toronto; and Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering, in the west Durham Region. Together a team of doctors including 224 general practitioners and 325 specialists, nurses and many other professionals, care for a broad spectrum of health conditions. In consultation and partnership with community members, other hospitals, healthcare organizations, the Central East Local Health Integration Network and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Rouge Valley continues to improve its programs catering to the needs of the growing communities of east Toronto, Ajax, Pickering and Whitby.
Business Challenge
For many, if not all, industry sectors, information has truly become the de facto currency of today’s global market. But in the realm of healthcare, access to data plays an even more critical role in day-to-day operations. From the moment patients set foot in a hospital until they are discharged, information is being collected. It is up to the healthcare facility to ensure that all records are secure and available to staff when needed. “I didn’t realize just how information intense the healthcare sector was until I started working at Rouge Valley,” said Keith Roberts, Director, Management Information Systems, Rouge Valley Health System. Roberts and his team of 17 administrative and technical professionals are responsible for planning new IT systems, implementing them and educating the appropriate users. “We support both the Rouge Valley Centenary site in east Toronto and the Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering site in west Durham Region,” he explained.
With approximately 2,800 users in total, Roberts and his staff are also kept busy with the ongoing management of the wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN), as well as all of the servers, personal computers and other connected peripheral devices. The Centenary and Ajax sites are connected by a WAN using Smart Systems for Health Agency (SSHA), an Ontario government agency that provides Rouge Valley with a data communications network between the locations. While the SSHA network works adequately to provide the facility with an Internet connection and e-mail services, Rouge Valley recently installed Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) a technology that allows the digitization of hard-copy medical images such as X-rays, MRIs and CAT scans. “By storing these clinical images digitally, hospital staff now has the capability of offsite viewing and reporting,” said Roberts. “Additionally, PACS enables practitioners at multiple sites to access the same information simultaneously.” Roberts said that soon after installing PACS, it quickly became apparent that without a reliable redundancy service between the Centenary and Ajax site, access to patient information was at risk. “So, after some discussion, the search was underway for an appropriate redundancy solution that would fit our budget and provide much needed backup in case of unforeseen system downtime or outages,” he added. After contacting a number of vendors, Roberts said TeraGo Networks came out on top in terms of business value, initial and ongoing costs as well as response times.
“I didn’t realize just how information intense the healthcare sector was until I started working at Rouge Valley.”
Solution: TeraGo Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Redundancy Solution
The availability of critical data such as digital medical images cannot be left to chance, said Roberts. “If we ever lost connectivity between the Centenary and Ajax sites, it is great to know that TeraGo’s VLAN service, which operates using wireless radio technology placed on the roof of both facilities, will enable us to continue sending and receiving important X-rays, MRI and CAT scan images,” he added. The secure, point-to-point TeraGo connection uses licensed spectrum and provides Rouge Valley with transfer speeds of up 100 Mbps. “It’s like having an insurance policy. The TeraGo redundancy solution is helping mitigate the risk of failure of our data communication line,” Roberts explained. Rouge Valley was also very impressed with the quick installation time, as TeraGo technicians worked diligently to meet several of the hospital’s deadlines. “In addition to the security, stability, quality of service and cost, TeraGo was very flexible in terms of contract negotiations, and they demonstrated a willingness to accommodate and address our concerns,” said Roberts. Roberts said that Rouge Valley would likely use the TeraGo connection to transmit voice between the sites.
“We are hoping to upgrade our telephone system to handle Voice over Internet Protocol, and start to route voice traffic over the TeraGo radio technology.” Roberts added that the redundancy solution has given caregivers at the hospital peace of mind that the ever-so important aspect of protecting and accessing a client’s digital clinical images is in good hands with TeraGo. “For hospitals that have multiple sites and are looking for redundancy, TeraGo’s solution is a great and economical way to do it,” he said.
For more information on Rouge Valley, visit www.rougevalley.ca.