SPIE : Sankt Josef-Hospital relies on SPIE for its modernisation alongside day-to-day operations

Sankt Josef-Hospital relies on SPIE for its modernisation alongside day-to-day operations

Xanten, 8 December 2021 - SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, replaced the call light system in all wards and set up the hospital-wide Wi-Fi network on behalf of Sankt Josef-Hospital in Xanten, North Rhine-Westphalia. The call light renewal and Wi-Fi setup were carried out alongside day-to-day operations. Impact was kept to a minimum thanks to far-sighted planning and a coordinated approach. Thanks to the Wi-Fi expansion, that patients and staff now have blanket access to high-speed internet.

With 160 beds, Sankt Josef-Hospital is run as a general, non-profit hospital in North Rhine-Westphalia. The clinic's main departments include internal medicine, surgery, acute geriatrics and anaesthesia as well as an in-patient ward for ophthalmology. As part of modernising the call light system, the opportunity was taken to set up a new Wi-Fi network with blanket coverage throughout the buildings. "Both tasks can be taken care of in a single working step. That means the rooms can quickly be returned to use," explains Hans-Jörg Messer from the SPIE TELBA Group GmbH, the SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa's unit carrying out the work.

All of the parties concerned were closely involved throughout the entire process. For example, the call light solution from Clino Systevo was implemented with the everyday challenges in mind from the planning stage. SPIE's teams also carried out the modernisation work room by room in close coordination with the care staff. "Of course, when working alongside ongoing operations and in a such challenging situation as the coronavirus pandemic, we rely on the experience we have gained over the past few decades," reports Hans-Jörg Messer. As a result, it was possible to keep the impact on day-to-day operations to a minimum.

To establish a Wi-Fi network with blanket coverage in the clinic, more than 60 access points were installed. Several switches, which were planned with foresight, ensure the smooth throughput of data. This will allow, in the future, the installation of additional applications dedicated to hospital operations that can communicate seamlessly via the Wi-Fi network. After all, the wireless network is primarily dedicated to the patients. With the billing solution from Hetopsie, they can purchase tickets to use the Wi-Fi in a straightforward way. Alternatively, Wi-Fi tickets can be obtained via the hospital information desk.

In the future, the Wi-Fi could also be used to network medical equipment and establish a healthcare provision 4.0, where linking all the data enables patients to receive the best possible treatment and its digital file is just a click away.