Silver Cross Hospital's recently opened data center puts it at the forefront of an emerging healthcare trend: Combining construction of new hospitals with new data centers to offer the latest in technology and accommodate an explosion in applications and patient data--not just documents, but images and videos.
With the February, 2012 opening of its 600,000-sf, $370 million medical complex with outpatient center, medical service building and hospital, the New Lenox Ill. community hospital needed to update and expand its aging data resources, which were already operating at capacity. With its new 2,450-sf data center, 50% larger than its existing one, patients and staff are already enjoying the benefits of new technology.
Silver Cross became one of the first hospitals to install patient tracking software so families know where a patient is at all times. New communication equipment supports wireless voice and data networks throughout the hospital, providing access to patients and their families while freeing clinicians to use phones and computers where needed instead of based on location. Also, medical telemetry enables remote monitoring of patient vital signs.
Other leaders, including OSF's new Children's Hospital of Illinois in Peoria and the soon-to-open Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, have combined new data centers with new medical facilities. Together, they are laying a technology foundation for the emerging era in healthcare that will be dominated by electronic patient records and new care delivery approaches that require real-time coordination and information exchange among multiple providers, payers, patients, and locations.
Given the escalating IT demands, growth of bigger and better healthcare data centers is only likely to strengthen. In a fall, 2011 survey by Mortenson of 90 data center and facilities experts at the 7x24 Exchange Conference, 92% of respondents ranked healthcare as the industry with the greatest need for new data centers in the next five years. +
Related Stories
| Nov 7, 2014
Prefab helps Valparaiso student residence project meet an ambitious deadline
Few colleges or universities have embraced prefabrication more wholeheartedly than Valparaiso (Ind.) University. The Lutheran-based institution completed a $27 million residence hall this past summer in which the structural elements were all precast.
| Nov 7, 2014
World's best new skyscraper: Sydney's vegetated One Central Park honored by CTBUH
The Jean Nouvel-designed tower tops the list of 88 entries in the 13th annual Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Awards.
| Nov 7, 2014
NORD Architects releases renderings for Marine Education Center in Sweden
The education center will be set in a landscape that includes small ponds and plantings intended to mimic an assortment of marine ecologies and create “an engaging learning landscape” for visitors to experience nature hands-on.
Sponsored | | Nov 6, 2014
To build your strongest team, don't hire clones
To attract and keep talented individuals who are different than you, Entrepreneur magazine suggests a few foundational principles. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Nov 6, 2014
Hines planning tall wood office building in Minneapolis
The Houston-based developer is planning a seven-story wood-framed office building in Minneapolis’ North Loop that will respect the neighborhood’s historic warehouse district look.
| Nov 6, 2014
Studio Gang Architects will convert power plant into college recreation center
The century-old power plant will be converted into a recreation facility with a coffee shop, lounges, club rooms, a conference center, lecture hall, and theater, according to designboom.
Sponsored | | Nov 6, 2014
Drilling deeper: On the ground insights from the Marcellus Shale region
The Marcellus Shale region is expansive, stretching from upstate New York through Pennsylvania to West Virginia. It’s an exciting time to live and work in the area. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Nov 5, 2014
AEC firms leverage custom scripts to bridge the ‘BIM language gap'
Without a common language linking BIM/VDC software platforms, firms seek out interoperability solutions to assist with the data transfer between design tools.
| Nov 5, 2014
Survey: More than 75% of workload takes place without face-to-face interactions
With the rise of technology, much of the workday—even the most productive morning hours—is spent corresponding via email or conference call, according to a recent survey of corporate workers by Mancini•Duffy.
| Nov 5, 2014
The architects behind George Lucas' planned Chicago museum unveil 'futuristic pyramid'
Preliminary designs for the $300 million George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art have been unveiled, and it looks like a futuristic, curvy pyramid.
