Virginia Commonwealth U Health System Implements Fiber Network

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System will implement a high-speed fiber network to support its medical applications.

The VCU Health System, which oversees the VCU Medical Center, contracted the fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure provider, Lumos Networks, to build the network. The new network will connect four of the VCU Health System facilities, satellite locations, and critical care locations directly to Lumos' Richmond Data Center and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2014.

According to John J. Berghuis, associate CIO of Technology for VCU Health System, the low-latency, healthcare-grade network will support "sensitive applications such as billing, electronic medical records, and imaging."

The VCU Health System fiber network will connect directly to Lumos Networks' recently completed 110 mile fiber Ethernet metro ring in Richmond. According to the company, the Richmond fiber ring was 100 gigabit-ready at launch and is one of the company's densest fiber rings. Lumos Networks serves Virginia, West Virginia, and parts of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, and Maryland.

Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university located in downtown Richmond, VA. The VCU Medical Center is an academic medical center that is home to MCV (Medical College of Virginia) Hospitals and the health sciences schools of VCU. The teaching hospital offers a wide range of medical services, including surgery, emergency care, oncology, and pediatric services.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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