New Regional Hospital

Based on innovaphone’s PBX, one singular integrated system evolved, which comprised following elements: innovaphone PBX, VoWiFi, UC applications and a redundancy system

The company “New Regional Hospital Ltd.” (Nowy Szpital Wojewódzki Sp. z o.o. - NSZW) founded by the Voivodeship Marshal (chief public official of Lower Silesia) was responsible for the construction of the regional hospital and is now in charge of its administration. The new hospital is a very modern health center consisting of 20 medical practices and 16 wards spread across 5 stories, with a total capacity of 550 patients. Approximately 1000 employees work in the hospital.

The company NSZW had high demands for its communication infrastructure. The new system was expected to ensure stable operation, high availability and a sophisticated concept of redundancy for optimal security in case of failure. Many IP and UC solutions were scrutinized. innovaphone AG, the specialist for professional business communication from Sindelfingen, participated in a public tender. After thorough evaluation of all communication solutions offered, the final decision was made in favor of innovaphone’s PBX system.

innovaphone PBX – a Customized System for Various Demands

The innovaphone PBX system with its easy scalability does not only offer typical functions for telephony but also all modern Unified Communications applications which guarantee efficient and flexible communication within businesses of all structures and sizes. The entire communication structure in the new regional hospital is based on innovaphone’s PBX solution which was optimally tailored to the individual needs of the customer, its business profile and the technical requirements of the new building.

“Stable operation of the system, high capacity and maximum security ensured through a redundancy system” were the most important demands put forward by NSZW concerning the new solution, said Michał Hordejuk – IT specialist at NSZW – and added: “Our Company had prepared a catalog of features for the prospective communication system. One of these essential features were the necessity of connections via LAN in combination with connections via wireless VoWiFi.” The innovaphone PBX system is based on European standards and guarantees maximum safety due to a compact operating system, developed in-house, on which all devices and software operate. innovaphone’s redundancy concept works with a quick and automatic switch to the back-up system, without any loss of data.

Architecture of the New Communication Solution

innovaphone’s solution at the “New Regional Hospital” includes following elements: implementation of a modern telephone system based on VoIP and VoWiFi, redundant system configuration, modern end devices, WiFi telephones and Unified Communications applications. The new platform was constructed as a Master-Slave installation. The VoIP network is based on four VoIP Gateways IP6010 constructed on the principle of redundancy. If one PBX were to fail, the second redundancy-based system would take over the functions of the Master PBX automatically and without delay. This principle ensures maximum safety in case of system failure. Additionally, a gateway IP810 was installed to enable phone calls between medical staff and patients. Analog Adapters IP28 and IP22 were implemented in order to integrate analog devices. Further, the hospital was equipped with modern end devices: IP phones IP232 with touchscreen and large color display, IP phones IP110A which provide the newest functions for IP telephones and Unified Communications and wireless telephones IP62, which ensure availability of employees within the entire hospital.

The company NSZW also profits from the UC applications: the UC client myPBX, innovaphone Reporting and innovaphone Voicemail. innovaphone’s UC client myPBX is an application for desktop computers and mobile devices. Optimal communication is guaranteed, and the combination of different Unified Communications elements and a clearly arranged user interface ensure easy operation. The Presence information notifies its users about the availability of favorite contacts. innovaphone Reporting establishes a real-time overview of all calls within the hospital and enables analyses of these calls. This application delivers valuable information about telecommunication within the entire hospital and between the individual departments. innovaphone Reporting was installed on two redundant platforms with data base replication. innovaphone’s Voicemail application is a modern form of the answering machine. Messages are saved electronically and can be retrieved via computer, telephone or e-mail. The user has access to the messages anywhere and anytime. Additionally, the hospital possesses an IVR system based on voicemail.

The hospital’s communication structure also includes a very innovative element, a so-called “Hot-Platform” which enables communication between the operating theatres, emergency room and diagnostic imaging – this is a separate system with its own lift. Primarily, computer systems realize the flow of information, and telephone communication is achieved with the innovaphone PBX. Physicians use the WiFi phones IP62. innovaphone VoIP telephones IP110A are mounted to the walls next to digital x-ray showcases in the operating theatres.

The companies Ascom and innovaphone have been in a long-term technological business partnership, working together on many projects. Ascom’s alarm systems have already proven their worth with many installations. This was the reason why NSZW decided to integrate Ascom’s alarm system into the communication infrastructure of the new hospital at Wroclaw. Due to the high technical challenges and the sheer scope of the project, more than three months passed until installation was completed. When asked whether complications or unpredicted situations arose during installation, Michal Hordejuk answered: “The biggest challenge during implementation was permanent WiFi coverage for the WiFi phones IP62. Further, all IP62 phones turned out to require manual programming, during which the phones had to be connected to a specific base station. Consequently, the process of implementation was prolonged considerably. Apart from that incident, installation of the innovaphone solution was extremely smooth.” Marcin Wieloch, IT specialist at NSZW added: “The solution by innovaphone PBX is a solid system which fully meets our requirements. It is superior to other solutions.”

Advantages of the innovaphone PBX Solution

Based on innovaphone’s PBX, one singular integrated system evolved, which comprised following elements: innovaphone PBX, VoWiFi, UC applications and a redundancy system which immediately takes over the functions of the main system in case of failure. This ensures that connection is never interrupted. The IT department of the hospital is very satisfied with the central administration of the entire infrastructure, not least because immense financial savings in maintenance and service are guaranteed. All calls within the network are free of charge.

Creating the scripts enables administrative work and service to be executed automatically (except IP62 phones), for example with the back-up and configuration of software updates. “The employees have gotten used to the intuitive operation of our new end devices and the UC Client extremely fast. They are also very satisfied with voice quality during in-house calls,” says Michał Hordejuk and concludes: „The innovaphone system is a sturdy communication solution which is perfectly tailored to our technological and economic needs.”