Network Helps Take Healthcare System into Bold Future
By Cisco Systems
Sanford Health launches ambitious initiatives for expansion and integration of healthcare services with Cisco advanced network. Sanford Health serves nearly 100 communities, covering roughly 80,000 square miles across South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. It is the largest healthcare system between the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis and Denver and serves an average of 30,000 in-patient and one million outpatient visits annually. Sanford Health has spawned an extraordinary vision for new healthcare initiatives, including developing a world- class clinical research and education program and the creation of a multi-faceted initiative focused on the health and well-being of children. Arlyn Broekhuis, Sanford vice president and CIO, knew that this vision for the future of healthcare would require an equally forward-looking technology foundation to enable continual advances. Scott Sylliaasen, network security manager, was brought on board to oversee a complete upgrade of the network infrastructure. "œSanford is creating one of the few truly integrated, comprehensive health systems in the nation," says Sylliaasen. "œWe needed a robust, unifying network that would support our picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and electronic medical record (EMR) applications, as well as telemedicine and unified communications in the future."
