In the fast-paced world of healthcare, seamless communication is critical for providing top-tier patient care. Huntington Health, a renowned healthcare provider in Southern California and an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, faced mounting challenges with its aging telecommunications infrastructure. As the hospital expanded, its outdated on-premises system struggled to keep up, creating a need for a modern, reliable solution that could support mission-critical operations.
The Challenge: A Failing Legacy System
Huntington Health’s legacy phone system was not only difficult to maintain, but also prohibitively expensive. The system’s downtime posed significant risks to patient care, as reliable communication between departments is essential for healthcare providers. In addition, the hospital’s infrastructure lacked the scalability needed to handle growing demands, and it did not meet the regulatory requirements expected in today’s healthcare industry.
Huntington Hospital’s Challenge
Huntington Health needed to replace its outdated, costly, and unreliable on-premises telecommunications system with a modern solution to ensure operational efficiency and compliance.
BluIP’s Solution
BluIP implemented a cloud-hosted PBX system with advanced features, including SD-WAN, on-net connectivity, and an AI virtual assistant for streamlined communication and call routing.
Results
Huntington Health achieved significant cost savings, enhanced system reliability, and improved operational efficiency, supporting over 4,000 users in a 600-bed facility.
The Solution: Cloud-Based Unified Communications
To tackle these challenges, Huntington Health partnered with BluIP to implement a cloud-based Unified Communications solution. The transition included replacing the outdated system with BluIP’s robust carrier-grade Cloud Voice solution, ensuring reliability and scalability. Additional components such as SD-WAN and on-net connectivity were introduced to enhance private and secure communications across the hospital campus, further strengthening the new system’s reliability.
BluIP’s solution also included an AI Virtual Assistant designed to streamline internal communications by efficiently managing the hospital’s directory and call routing. This modern, scalable, and secure telecommunications infrastructure allowed Huntington Health to address its growing needs without disrupting patient care.
The Results: Enhanced Efficiency and Substantial Savings
The results were immediate and impressive. Huntington Health reported a fivefold reduction in annual voice service costs, moving from capital expenditure (CAPEX) to operational expenditure (OPEX), easing budget constraints. More importantly, the new system’s uptime and reliability were critical in maintaining continuous communication for a healthcare facility that supports over 4,000 users and operates a 600-bed facility.
BluIP’s AI Virtual Assistant also reduced the need for operator-assisted transfers, freeing up hospital staff to focus on more complex tasks rather than routine call management. With a resilient cloud platform in place, Huntington Health’s communications infrastructure was modernized, operational efficiency improved, and cost savings realized.
A Blueprint for the Future of Healthcare Communications
Huntington Health’s successful transition from a failing on-premises system to a modern cloud-hosted solution sets a precedent for other healthcare providers. The implementation not only improved patient safety through reliable communication but also gave the hospital the financial flexibility to invest in other critical areas.
As Matt Berlin, Director of Information Systems at Huntington Health, noted: “BluIP’s cloud offering ticked all the boxes and more. We were able to streamline our telco spend, reduce our on-premises footprint, and simplify a complex networking environment. The benefits were clear from day one.”
Huntington Health’s story is a powerful example of how technology modernization can address the unique challenges faced by healthcare organizations, ensuring operational excellence and continuous care.
Conclusion
The transformation of Huntington Health’s telecommunications infrastructure through BluIP’s Cloud Voice solution demonstrates the importance of adopting advanced technology to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare sector. From cost savings to enhanced communication reliability, this case study highlights the potential for healthcare providers to improve both operational efficiency and patient care with the right technology partner.
Download the Huntington Hospital's Case Study
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