Sept. 22

The Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC) is bringing fast and reliable emergency preparedness communications to hospitals and first responders in California, thanks in part to a new high-speed satellite broadband network from Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

HASC's ReddiNet connects more than 300 hospitals, emergency response organizations, and public health officials throughout 13 California counties, carrying time-sensitive data for both daily operations and crisis situations. Hughes is upgrading HASC's ReddiNet emergency medical communications systems at hundreds of sites with a private managed network using its award-winning SPACEWAY® 3 satellite system, the world's first with on-board switching and routing, enabling high-speed, site-to-site connectivity. The advanced Hughes solution provides much needed extra capacity and higher reliability for everything from tracking a pandemic flu outbreak and managing mass casualty events, to secure messaging and hospital bed availability.

According to Cathy Winans, senior vice president of medical communication systems, the Hughes solution gives HASC an important competitive advantage over other commercial emergency preparedness vendors—with multiple, varied communication channels supporting the entire system.

"We will have the most extensive network of hospitals in the country utilizing satellite technology as part of a redundant emergency communications system," Winans said. "And because the network is fully managed by Hughes, my staff can now focus their efforts on enhancing and developing new applications instead of diverting their efforts to terrestrial network problems. Satellite broadband has really come of age for our needs, offering increased reliability, security, and affordability."

The robust Hughes solution replaces a slower network of mountaintop-based microwave radios, which were also more vulnerable to outages due to adverse weather and disaster conditions. HASC now has much greater bandwidth to share critical data among a wider network of emergency responders, including high-resolution graphics such as diagnostic images and maps, and to develop and operate more sophisticated applications.

"Hughes is proud to be working with HASC to enhance the quality and capacity of its emergency preparedness and response capabilities. Reliable communications are essential to any healthcare system, and SPACEWAY 3 is the ideal platform for these kinds of mission-critical managed broadband services," said Peter Pardee, vice president of business development and healthcare solutions for Hughes.