Will WiFi be Connect Care Ready?

Question: Wireless network (WiFi, AHSRESTRICT) coverage has been an irritant for prescribers (incomplete coverage) in past years. Naturally, our clinicians wonder if recent upgrades will be up to the challenge of going totally paperless. We know that there will be heavy reliance on mobile devices, as well as desktop and notebook computers that connect to the network with wireless technology. In addition, connected medical instruments increasingly use wireless rather than wired connections. Will Connect Care be able to cope?

Answers: Lots of questions here:

Is WiFi for Connect Care ready for launch?
Yes. Clinical grade high-capacity WiFi is installed or enhanced at all sites anticipating launch. Work continues to prepare other sites for future launches.

How can we be sure?
Wireless networking has been prepared and tested by:

• completing exhaustive wireless performance assessments in all locations
• developing custom wireless coverage designs to deal with unique building or equipment challenges (e.g., radiology equipment interference)
• leveraging industry-certified construction contractors 
• testing, validating and commissioning WiFi services at each location
• completing a post-implementation optimization survey to identify any potential coverage gaps or interference in every AHS location
• completing any needed remediation work

Can Connect Care WiFi scale to growing needs?
The WiFi for Connect Care was designed to meet tomorrow's needs. Performance and capacity targets include:

• 100% availability - Enough access point redundancy to provide 100% availability. 
• Upgrade resilience - Upgrades and changes are regularly implemented with no impact to wireless clients.
• Room to grow - Installed technology can support up to 600,000 wireless devices provincially, where we have about ~30,000 active devices currently.
• High capacity - Designed and configured for average 260Mbps of bandwidth per wireless client.

Will AHS WiFi be clinically dependable? 
AHS WiFi is robust enough to support mission-critical and life-dependent clinical needs, providing continuous coverage and generous capacity without interruption as you move throughout AHS facilities.

How do we check WiFi performance?
AHS IT Network Services use specialized wireless survey equipment to validate the coverage and performance of our WiFi networks and conduct extensive post-implementation wireless optimization work in every location throughout sites.

What if a performance problem is observed? 
Please contact the IT Service desk (1-877-311-4300) immediately and open a problem ticket, providing as much detail as possible on the nature, time and location of your issue. This will ensure the issue is logged and assigned to a technical WiFi expert for prompt investigation, resolution and closure.