Catholic Healthcare West to Offer Free Wi-Fi in Northern California Hospitals

REDDING, Calif.– The North State Service Area within the Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) network, the nation’s eighth largest health system, announced the launch of free wireless Internet access (Wi-Fi) for patients, visitors and physicians. The service is available currently at Mercy Medical Center Redding, Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff.

The Wi-Fi service is enabled by Aptilo Networks and provides patients and visitors with secure, easy-to-use high-speed broadband Internet access to help make their stay more comfortable. Using the Wi-Fi, patients can remain connected to friends and family with email, search the Internet, etc. from their hospital bed.

Physicians will enjoy easy access to the Internet as well. Previously, physicians were able to use only the hospital’s internal wireless network, and had to do so using devices provided by Catholic Healthcare West. With the Aptilo platform doctors can search the Internet, read up on the news or access external email using any wirelessly enabled device.

“This is a tremendous benefit to our patients, their visitors and to our physicians who can now enjoy free, easy-to-use wireless broadband in our Redding, Mt. Shasta and Red Bluff facilities. Free Wi-Fi is one more way we provide an exceptional experience along with superior, compassionate health care,” said Henry Niessink, I.T. Site Director, Catholic Healthcare West, North State. “We are happy that CHW made Aptilo’s service available to our communities. This will be a real benefit to our patients, visitors and physicians in providing quick and efficient Internet access.”

Senior Vice President of Operations, Jon Halfhide added, “Wireless integration is a key component of our integration and connectivity strategies. Providing patients and their loved ones access to the Internet to stay in touch and informed about their care and progress is of paramount importance to the North State Service Area CHW hospitals.”

Mercy Medical Center Redding, Mercy Medical Center, Mt. Shasta and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff together serve more than 170,000 patients each year.

Robust Solution for Healthcare Segment

Working with Dell Services, Catholic Healthcare West utilized Aptilo Guest Internet Services(TM), a cloud-based carrier-class hosted solution for large multi-site organizations wanting to offer their patients and visitors secure Internet access using the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. With simplified administration, it is designed to involve the internal IT staff as little as possible in the daily operation.

“Catholic Healthcare West needed a solution that could be deployed quickly and easily throughout their network of hospitals in a cost-effective way. Aptilo’s hosted platform can also scale up as needed and accommodate tiered bandwidth options for users,” said Torbjorn Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Aptilo Networks. “We are proud to be working with them in delivering exceptional, easy-to-use Internet access.”

About Catholic Healthcare West
Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) is the eighth largest hospital system in the nation and the largest hospital provider in California. Founded in 1986, the CHW network of more than 8,500 physicians and approximately 50,000 employees serve a population spanning 22 million people at 41 hospitals across California, Arizona, and Nevada. For more information, please visit our website at chwHEALTH.org.

About Aptilo Networks
Aptilo Networks is the global leader in pre-integrated management solutions for control of billing, user services and access in Wi-Fi, WiMAX(TM) and LTE networks. Aptilo’s solutions have been deployed in more than 50 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.aptilo.com.