SAN DIEGO, CA - Rancho Santa Fe Technology successfully completed the design, engineering and construction of Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center’s (PVHMC) mission-critical data center or computer room that houses the hospital’s critical computer equipment. The expanding and remodeling of Pomona Valley’s Data Center was a serious operation that required the same care and planning as surgery. At stake was the nerve center of the entire facility, including vital communication and data storage for the laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, patient admitting, medical records, accounting and payroll.

"Everyone at the hospital relies on our computer services for truly mission-critical tasks," said Joe Diaz, director of operations at PVHMC. "Requests from doctors for stat lab or radiology tests are transmitted via the network. Information about patients, pharmacy orders, and supply orders are all there. We had to approach our expansion very carefully because the hospital could not afford significant downtime for these systems."

PVHMC is a thriving 449-bed medical facility with over 350 active physicians on staff. In 1998, the hospital treated over 22,000 inpatients, including acute care and newborns, and had nearly 150,000 outpatient registrations. With so many critical activities dependent on the computing systems, PVHMC recognized that it needed to more than double the 390 sq. ft. Data Center located in the basement of the hospital.

The solution to this complex project was to take a modular, step-by-step approach that clearly defined the project’s requirements and broke the project down into three independent phases that gave PVHMC the confidence to utilize RSFT’s expertise and ensure the project’s success. According to Cory Crommett, co-founder of RSFT and the head of the Facility Design and Construction division, "We used a modular approach in our proposal to Pomona Valley Hospital to provide our them with maximum flexibility, a low start-up cost, and a higher confidence level to proceed at each stage. Modularity also builds into the process significantly greater communication and feedback at each stage to ensure the project is done right."

RSFT’s solution architect, Kevin Kuehn, worked closely with the IS core team to assist in planning a phased approach that ensured minimal downtime and disruption to the hospital’s patients, doctors and administrators. Kuehn’s technical expertise and his long list of similar operating center moves were major contributors to the success of the project and the ultimate success of the Information Services Department. Kuehn also attributed much of the success to his "partner" at PVHMC, network manager Enrique Iglesias. "Enrique took complete ownership of this move," said Kuehn. "He must have put in 24 straight hours. It is this kind of commitment you need to have for a successful data center move."

It was agreed that the move had to be completed within a 24-hour time frame. The move was scheduled on a Saturday night, starting at 10:00 PM and had to be up and running by 6:00 AM the following Monday. With the assembled team, the move was completed in less than 12 hours. The entire cost of the project including engineering was $563,000.

Rancho Santa Fe Technology provides an essential suite of services for companies that rely on mission-critical information systems. Established in 1991 as a privately held, minority-owned company, the company is comprised of three business units: The Facility Design and Construction Group provides architectural design, engineering and construction services to create disaster-resistant network operation or data centers; the Communications Infrastructure Group designs and installs a wide variety of structured cabling systems, network infrastructures and technology upgrade projects; and the Maintenance and Repair Group provides troubleshooting, repair and scheduled maintenance services for vital desktop/server systems and networks throughout the western United States. Their clients include large and geographically diverse organizations in a variety of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, high-technology, telecommunications, finance, and government. Rancho Santa Fe Technology is headquartered in San Diego, CA with offices in Alameda, CA and Tempe, AZ.

The company web site is www.rsft.com.