MobileAccess to install Wi-Fi network in Minnesota

MobileAccess Networks, a provider of in-building wireless network solutions, announced today that the St. Mary's Duluth Clinic (SMDC) Health System recently implemented the MobileAccess MA-850 Intelligent Switching Hub to enable Wi-Fi applications within nine buildings. 

The system supports a wireless medical materials management solution that provides accurate inventory management for hospital personnel and streamlined billing processes for SMDC's medical suppliers.

SMDC is implementing the MA-850 Wi-Fi solution to enable new wireless applications that further enhances the hospital's already excellent levels of patient care.  Initially, the system supports a wireless barcode application, letting SMDC track its inventory of medical materials more accurately and efficiently. In the future, SMDC plans to implement a wireless Voice over IP (VoIP) application to foster real-time communication among highly mobile hospital personnel.

The MA-850 enables a fundamentally new Wi-Fi architecture in which 802.11 APs can be clustered together in secure telecom closets, while only passive broadband antennas are located on the ceilings.  In contract to the conventional "AP everywhere" approach to deploying Wi-Fi, the MA-850 solution allows IT managers to easily access APs, reducing the operational costs of managing the Wi-Fi network and minimizing disruption within the facility.  In addition, the same passive antennas and cabling can be used to simultaneously support other wireless services such as cellular, PCS, and two-way radio.

SMDC Health System is a non-profit health care organization serving 450,000 residents of Northeastern Minnesota, Northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. SMDC is the largest health care provider in the region with four hospitals and 18 community clinics.

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