LifeLong Medical Care
September 11th, 2012 by admin
When the communications system can be a lifeline, Toshiba's IP and converged business phone systems make the connection for patients and staff.
Founded in 1976, LifeLong Medical Care provides health care services for all ages, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and families. The nonprofit agency is also an advocate for continuous improvement in health care for the three Northern California counties it serves. LifeLong provides more than 230,000 visits to more than 41,000 individuals, many with complex health conditions.
In an environment where being in touch — or not — can have immediate and dramatic effects on the well-being of a population, the communications system is critical, especially when there are more than 1,000 calls per day to manage.
LifeLong's IT director and IT manager knew the organization could deliver even higher quality service to patients and their families if they had a phone system that was easier to manage, offered more flexible and powerful capabilities, and made it easier to reach people across multiple locations.
To meet diverse needs at those different locations, ATS Communications Inc. of Concord, Calif., recommended a blend of pure IP and IP converged systems from Toshiba, including: one IPedge® EP system, four Strata® CIX™670 systems and four Strata CIX100 systems. Together, these platforms support nearly 600 Toshiba IP and digital phones (desktop and mobile) as well as IP softphones (PCs and tablets equipped to perform as phones).
Strata Net networking connects the locations to each other via IP, which enables direct extension dialing and call transfers among all locations and eliminates thousands of dollars of long distance charges per month.
The new phone system met LifeLong's requirements for a centralized system with shared applications including voice mail, call center and remote system management. IT staff can now remotely manage the entire telephone system from their desktop or laptop computers. As well, during construction of LifeLong's West Berkeley location, using IP telephones has enabled staff to move easily and take their IP telephones with them. As they change locations, they can take their direct dial extensions and personal telephony features with them.
"Our Toshiba business telephone system is extremely reliable and easy to use, allowing us to focus on our patients and staff while providing the best communications possible," said Phillip Klatt, IT manager of LifeLong.
"With Toshiba's migration promise to 'Leave no customer behind,' IPedge and Strata CIX meet LifeLong's communications needs both today and into the future," said Sanford Gladding, sales manager of ATS Communications, an Authorized Toshiba Dealer since 1988.
While advancing LifeLong's mission by matching quality health care with quality communications, the Toshiba system saves the organization $30,000 a year by eliminating toll charges for calls between networked locations. In addition, utilizing IP telephones has helped LifeLong cut its cabling costs for their new construction in West Berkeley by 50 percent.
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