Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley
NCS deploys IT infrastructure incorporating a future-focused IP-based Paging/Intercom System for the Rio Grande Valley’s only designated freestanding children’s hospital.
Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley is set to revolutionize healthcare in the region as an independent, state-of-the-art pediatric care facility. As the only designated freestanding children’s hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, it will provide unparalleled access to vital services, such as the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Emergency Services, and Acute Inpatient and Outpatient Surgery. In addition, the hospital will offer a range of specialty programs, including rehabilitation, imaging, a laboratory, and the Child Life Program.
Founded by Clara Driscoll in 1953 in Corpus Christi, the hospital has become a beacon of hope for children throughout South Texas. The new eight-level hospital, designed by architect Marty Mendoza marks the latest chapter in Driscoll Children’s Hospital’s storied history. With the new facility, Driscoll Children’s Hospital will continue to expand its mission of providing world-class medical care to all the region’s children.
The new hospital boasts an impressive 119 patient beds, with 63 of those beds explicitly designated for neonatal intensive care — a vital resource for the region’s youngest and most vulnerable patients.
With an investment of approximately $100 million the new hospital is poised to impact the local economy significantly. Not only will it provide essential medical services, but it will also create over 500 new jobs upon its highly anticipated opening in 2024.
Structured Cabling: The Backbone for Connectivity
As networked electronics become more ubiquitous in the medical industry, the amount of data transmitted, managed, and stored has skyrocketed. From vital patient records to crucial diagnostic information and the very machines used in surgeries, the scale of data handling has surged to unprecedented levels.
NCS installed the cabling for the facility’s entire telecommunications network. Since performance requirements varied throughout the network, NCS installed 2,400+ CommScope Category 6e cables, 135+ plenum coax cables, CommScope fiber optic backbone cabling, Superior Essex and CommScope multipair copper cables, CommScope OSP coax cables, and Belden connectors.
Due to the large footprint of the section from the ground floor through the 8th floor, including the central plant, warehouse, and NICU facilities, NCS performed a complete build-out of 11 intermediate distribution frame (IDF) closets, with the main distribution frame (MDF) located on the first floor utilizing CPI racks, trays, and hardware throughout the facilities’ IT rooms.
Future-Focused PA System for Security, Communication, and Privacy
The healthcare industry is propelling Internet Protocol (IP) convergence to new heights beyond digital patient records. Critical applications are being integrated within this paradigm shift, from security and access control to patient monitoring and equipment tracking. This underlines the industry’s increasing dependence on cutting-edge technology to streamline operations, bolster patient care, and drive improved results.
NCS also installed Valcom’s IP-based paging/intercom system, a future-focused, networked solution ideal for a state-of-the-art medical facility. The communication system allows healthcare professionals to control multiple zones in the hospital with various functionalities, including individual location paging, whole zone paging, emergency operation communication, and automated announcements. In addition, since the system is networked, hospital operators have more control over managing notifications across the children’s hospital while integrating the PA solutions with other systems to ensure every individual’s safety within the hospital and the surrounding buildings.
