Client: Immanuel is Nebraska’s leader in senior housing and services operating in 11 locations.
Industry: Senior Living/ Health Care
Immanuel is Nebraska’s leader in senior housing and services operating in 11 locations.
Challenges
The ability to access voice and data services whenever and wherever is quickly becoming an expectation. And people affiliated with senior living communities are no different. Immanuel, Nebraska’s leader in senior housing and services, has 1,000 employees operating in 11 locations. Nearly 150 employees work exclusively wirelessly and rely on unfailing and secure connectively to perform their roles.
Similar to staff, residents’ use of wireless technology is ever increasing, especially when it comes to keeping in contact with their friends and family. And, like anywhere, community visitors expect to be able to connect to their devices while on premise.
In addition to the user experience, Immanuel’s IT team was also concerned about the security and reliability of their network infrastructure. They had no redundancy, no special authentication and no form of monitoring.
A forward-thinking company, Immanuel knew that in order to continuously improve staff efficiency, enhance the quality of resident care, provide a better experience for visitors and families, and ensure a secure and reliable network, implementing a state-of-the-art wireless infrastructure was more of a requirement than an option.
Solutions
As a leading provider of Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company’s wireless enterprise solutions, DataVizion was the provider of choice when Immanuel decided to implement a wall-to-wall wireless solution.
After completing a full assessment, DataVizion wasted no time deploying wireless enterprise solutions including:
- Aruba wireless local area network (WLAN) and Aruba Mobility Access Switches, which makes network operations more efficient while providing employees, residents and guests with the seamless connectivity that they expect wherever they work or roam.
- Aruba AirWave, which gives the IT team the visibility and network management capabilities needed to effectively manage enterprise mobility. This includes providing real-time monitoring, proactive alerts, historical reporting, and fast, efficient troubleshooting, all through a centralized and intuitive user interface.
- Aruba ClearPass, which provides an added layer of network security with access management so IT-issued devices or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) can safely connect to the network in compliance with the company’s security policies.
Results
DataVizion completed the full-scale wireless enterprise solution within budget and in less time than the 18-months allotted for the project. The results are everywhere you look.
The absence of desktop computers is one of the most notable differences. Laptops are now the company’s standard workstations. Immanuel went from two access points at each location to an impressive 857 access points throughout the organization, leading to a huge increase in employee mobility and resulting efficiency.
In fact, about 95 percent of employees at Immanuel’s home office now have a laptop and work 100 percent wirelessly. This allows teams to bring their workstations with them as needed to easily meet and collaborate in one room with no loss of access or connectivity.
Medication Aides being able to distribute medications and chart resident health information during resident visits, rather than having to return to a central nursing station, is yet another example of the positive impact on efficiency and quality of care the solution has created.
The guest wireless allows for a true BYOD environment, allowing residents and visitors to connect to the Internet when they spend time with loved ones.
An enterprise implementation of this scale doesn’t come easy, but DataVizion made sure to do a thorough handover with Immanuel’s skilled IT team so they can manage and maintain the Aruba equipment.
DataVizion also provides Immanuel with full helpdesk support through VizionCare, DataVizion’s IT managed service platform. In addition to 24/7 proactive monitoring, DataVizion is instantly notified should an issue arise and able to provide immediate support.
Immanuel’s wireless environment sets them apart from the competition and will certainly be a differentiator when it comes to attracting future employees and residents.
“We work with many vendors on a daily basis, but few reach the level of customer service that DataVizion does. From the beginning, DataVizion’s tech support staff proved to be very knowledgeable and seemed happy to go above and beyond what was asked of them. They not only addressed our known issues, they also identified other performance improvement opportunities. We continue to be impressed by the willingness of their employees to make themselves available to help. As new ideas are brought to the table, our wireless infrastructure is no longer a roadblock, but instead an asset that can be leveraged again and again.”
– Tom Garvey, Immanuel VP of Information Technology