If You Build It…

Most of us are familiar with the famous lines novice farmer Ray Kinsella heard whispered in his cornfield: “If you build it, he will come.” Not unlike the baseball diamond that appeared in the middle of Dyersville, Iowa, in the film Field of Dreams is the state-of-the-art children’s hospital in Madera County, California.

Children’s Hospital Central California (CHCC) began as the vision of five civic-minded women who saw the need for a dedicated pediatric hospital in Central California. Nearly 60 years later, CHCC has grown to a 348-bed, nationally respected regional pediatric medical center on a 50-acre campus with a medical staff of more than 525 physicians. Built on land donated by a farmer, CHCC is humbly referred to as the “Field of Dreams” by the Cisco account team.

We were fortunate enough this week to have CHCC’s Director of IT Operations and Information Security Officer, David Kennington, participate in a customer-focused press conference at last week’s Cisco Live 2013 event in Orlando. During the conference, David spoke alongside representatives from Orlando Health and Moffitt Cancer Center to the Cisco technologies CHCC has deployed, and the advances in innovation and collaboration that have resulted. A Cisco customer for more than five years, CHCC has forged a partnership with Cisco, working step-in-step to incorporate new ideas, technology and methods to improve the health care and services. And with the future ever in mind, CHCC continues to look for new avenues to innovate, both for its patients and its employees.

From the data center that houses the hospital’s computing system and the virtual desktops that keep hospital administrators up-to-date to the wireless network that allows patients, physicians, nurses and administrators to log on anytime, from any device, Cisco and CHCC create strategic plans to ensure future growth and continued vitality. CHCC is assessing how telemedicine will enable them to reach even more children across the region, Cisco will continue to work with the hospital to make sure the video and collaboration solutions needed by CHCC are there.

In speaking at the roundtable, David discussed how CHCC takes a holistic approach at analyzing and improving patient driven care. As they plan for the future, CHCC is looking to ensure that they have the next generation infrastructure in place to address all patient and physician technology needs. A high-quality, medical grade network, enhanced core and edge technologies, as well as wireless and telepresence solutions, CHCC is turning to Cisco as a strategic partner to ensure that their technology enables seamless patient and practice experiences today and tomorrow.

David said it best, “we put the common good ahead of narrow interests.” When it comes to your health, do you embrace technology? As a patient, what’s important to you? Let us know in the comments section below!