Lutheran Health Systems Upgrades to High Speed Enterprise Network Via Scaleable 3Com Systems; Leading Rural Healthcare Provider Expedites Patient Services, Lowers Costs and Streamlines Operations in 70 Nationwide Locations Using Advanced 3Com Equipment.SANTA CLARA Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 1997--3Com Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :COMS COMS 3Com Corporation (stock symbol) COMS Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist COMS Continuous Opacity Monitoring Systems COMS City of Manchester Stadium (UK) ) today announced that Lutheran Health Systems (LHS (filename extension) lhs - The filename extension for literate Haskell source files. ) of Fargo, ND, is standardizing its new enterprise network on high speed Ethernet/FDDI 3Com systems. The $1.7 million network stretches from Arizona to Alaska and is based on 3Com's Transcend Networking framework, enabling LHS to scale, extend and manage network growth. LHS, which originated in 1938 with seven sites in North and South Dakota South Dakota (dəkō`tə), state in the N central United States. It is bordered by North Dakota (N), Minnesota and Iowa (E), Nebraska (S), and Wyoming and Montana (W). , now owns and operates 100-plus rural healthcare facilities in 17 western states. Launched in June 1996, LHS's 3Com local area networks (LANs) and wide area network (WAN) are a core piece of the firm's "technology enhancement process" -- a strategic initiative designed to standardize computing solutions for the network's 3,500 users. Using the scaleable LANs and WAN, LHS can now rapidly exchange a wide range of medical data from large offices and hospitals to home care centers, remotely located clinics and more. "The 3Com network is critical to our mission of delivering integrated healthcare services to rural markets," said Ken Lawonn, LHS chief information officer. "The LANs allow our regions to maintain strong ties with outlying communities. The WAN lets us operate as a single, efficient organization, providing our facilities with fast access to specialized patient information, financial data and medical databases." New, Advanced Applications Fueled by 3Com's Transcend Networking framework, LHS's network today is delivering innovative applications that are improving patient services and lowering business costs. The network-supported Atwork "one-call" system allows hospital medical clerks to rapidly schedule tests and doctors' visits based on patients' treatment programs. LHS's custom-built Total Care Information System database, now being piloted, will soon let doctors access patient records throughout a community, as well as transmit medical and billing records to and from any networked LHS hospital or clinic. LHS further plans to employ telemedicine, enabling the healthcare provider to extend quality healthcare to rural locales without the costs of transporting patients or physicians across wide geographic areas. "Lutheran's model enables the network to truly facilitate patient care and delivery services," said Kathryn McTighe, 3Com's worldwide healthcare industry manager. "The continuum of care is seamless." Operationally, the network-supported Matkon materials tracking system from Enterprise Systems, Inc., is saving LHS $1 million per year and will help the firm leverage buying policies in each region and extend materials automation to even the smallest locations. The firm also recently standardized on networked applications, such as Groupwise email and Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. . LHS soon plans to use Compaq Web servers linked to Microsoft Internet Explorer See Internet Explorer. Web browsers The following is a list of web browsers. Historical Historically important browsers In order of release:
LHS is also implementing Dunn & Bradstreet's Smart Stream human resource application. "SmartStream will let our employees make more informed decisions on benefits and retirement options than ever before," noted Lawonn. "It's just another way the network is improving the way we conduct our business." Scaleable, Reliable Speed Having previously used fragmented multi-vendor shared Ethernet Refers to the traditional Ethernet topology in which all stations share the total bandwidth of the network. Whether connected via a common cable (10Base5, 10Base2) or a hub (10Base-T), transmission is on a first-come, first-served basis. networks with leased line A private communications channel leased from a common carrier. Most digital lines require four wires (two pairs) for full-duplex transmission. (communications, networking) leased line or software-based router connections to Fargo, LHS chose 3Com and DAOU Systems, Inc., a leading technology integrator for the healthcare industry, to provide a scaleable LAN/WAN LAN/WAN Local Area Network/Wide Area Network architecture to support new client/server applications. To achieve this, LHS's five regional LANs are based on 3Com LANplex 6012 high-function switches and SuperStack(TM) II Switch 1000 and 2200 boundary switches. The LANplex 6012 switches deliver dedicated 100 megabit per second A megabit per second (abbreviated as Mbit/s, Mbps, or mbps) is a unit of data transfer rate equal to 1,000,000 bits per second. Because there are 8 bits in a byte, a transfer speed of 8 megabits per second (8 Mbps) is equivalent to 1,000,000 bytes (Mbps) Ethernet links to LHS servers. The SuperStack Switch 1000 and 2200 systems connect desktops at switched 10 Mbps Ethernet, providing LHS users with swift, reliable access to patient and administrative records. The initial 3Com regional LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. is installed at LHS's Mesa, AZ, headquarters supporting two hospitals, a home healthcare center and three visiting nurses facilities. LHS plans to deploy the LAN in similar sites at Greeley, Colo., Fargo, N.D., Spearfish, S.D., and Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks (IPA: /ˈfɛərbæŋks/) is a Home Rule City in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. in 1997 and 1998. Rural locations are using 3Com SuperStack II Hub 10s for shared 10 Mbps Ethernet connections to smaller numbers of users linked to single on site servers. The LHS frame relay A high-speed packet switching protocol used in wide area networks (WANs). Providing a granular service of up to DS3 speed (45 Mbps), it has become popular for LAN to LAN connections across remote distances, and services are offered by most major carriers. WAN today embraces 70 enterprise facilities, including LHS headquarters. It flexibly incorporates 3Com NETBuilder II bridge/routers at larger regional sites and SuperStack II NETBuilder II boundary routers at rural offices. "The routers quickly let small office users access servers at large regional sites, placing them inside our switched LANs in seconds," said Lawonn. 3Com is also providing LHS with PC-based EtherLink III network interface cards (NICs) and its Transcend Enterprise Manager application, enabling the firm to proactively monitor and manage the network. "3Com gave us a breadth of manageable, affordable products no other competitor could match," noted Lawonn. "Their NETBuilder family of bridge and boundary routers allow us to flexibly deploy WAN connections and are a big price/performance plus. We also can easily migrate our LANplex 6012 switches to asynchronous transfer mode See ATM. (communications) Asynchronous Transfer Mode - (ATM, or "fast packet") A method for the dynamic allocation of bandwidth using a fixed-size packet (called a cell). See also ATM Forum, Wideband ATM. ATM acronyms. Indiana acronyms. (ATM) for voice, video and data in applications like telemedicine and tele-radiology and more." About 3Com 3Com Corporation has helped more than 45 million people gain access to critical information through high speed networks. Designed to serve large enterprises, small offices and homes, 3Com products provide a scaleable architecture to meet the immediate and long term connectivity needs of their users. 3Com networking solutions enable healthcare institutions worldwide to stay competitive and meet diverse strategic objectives. 3Com's complete range of cost effective and reliable internetworking products allow healthcare networks to perform mission critical functions which deliver enhanced patient options and continuously improve how treatment is received. With research and development on three continents, 3Com is one of the data networking industry's largest and fastest growing companies. The company's innovative marketing, sales and support simplify communication, optimize network reliability and protect customer investments. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3Com.com or call 800/Net-3Com. To learn more about networking solutions for the healthcare industry, visit 3Com's healthcare industry web site at http://www.3Com.com/nsc/industry . -0- Note to Editors: 3Com, EtherLink, LANplex, NETBuilder and Transcend are registered trademarks and SuperStack is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. CONTACT: 3Com Corporate Communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. Peter Ruzicka, 408/764-5853 Peter_Ruzicka@3mail.3Com.com |
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