Dayton VA VoIP

Renee Doppes - Echo24

One of the three oldest VA facilities in the nation (opening in late 1867), The VA Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio had housed and cared for more veterans than any other VA facility in the nation from 1865 to 1930. The Dayton VAMC currently serves approximately 6,500 inpatients and 200,000 outpatients each year.

The challenge was to improve staff efficiency, patient care, and patient satisfaction by tying the overhead paging system together throughout 18 buildings (ranging from the modern day 10 story hospital tower to outbuildings over 140 years old) through the existing fiber backbone and Cisco network.

In September of 2006, Echo 24 received a Notice of Award from the Dayton VA Medical Center to upgrade their existing Bogen paging system to a Valcom Voice Over IP solution. By the end of this two-phase project, we had built the new Valcom head end in a new building, installed 32 LAN devices and 671 speakers throughout 18 campus buildings (including their 10 story main hospital).

Phase one

Phase one of the project included the installation of a new Valcom head end, integration of 28 Valcom LAN devices, installation of 231 overhead ceiling speakers, 15 volume controls, twelve 120 volt/20 amp circuits and we supplied the necessary equipment for integration of their Cisco telephone system.

As part of the contract, we were required to maintain the integrity of the existing Bogen system and speaker functionality earmarked for replacement in phase two. This was an incredibly important aspect to the project. If the existing Bogen system was "turned off" prematurely, quality of patient care would have been compromised. We had 150 days to complete phase one - our deadline was March 15, 2007.

The project began several months prior to stepping foot on site. Two technicians and I took a road trip for technical training at Valcom's state-of-the-art facility in Roanoke, Virginia. We learned the ins and outs of working with a total VOIP solution with their proprietary programming tool.

A Simple Plan

When the project commenced in late November 2006, our plan was pretty simple; get the head end built and all of the cabling for the speakers and network connections ran; mount the LAN devices, then cut the VA over to the new system.

Our RCDD and owner had engineered a home-run wiring design utilizing Krone blocks (to accommodate the daisy chaining of the speakers with the LAN units). Sounds simple enough, right? I really had my rose-colored glasses on the early days of phase one. It wasn't too long after the onset of the project that I realized we were running cable in 140 year old structures.

While I had spent weeks researching this customer and planning our installation strategy, I had missed an important aspect to the successful deployment of our application. While we had some very trying locations, we were able to identify, adapt and overcome those challenges with the cabling.

While the wiring was being installed, I was on site every week meeting with the VA to not only project manage, but to determine zones for this system. This was no small task - not only did I have to worry about phase one, but phase two had to be accounted for (of which no scope had yet been determined).

In addition, not only did the system have to work for every employee, but the system had to be easy enough for them to understand, memorize and use

When it was all said and done, over 70 group zones and 100+ channels were configured - each designed to hit a specific building and/or floor. In addition, 'All Call', 'Emergency' and the all-important 'Kill Page' zones were programmed.

Going "live" with the Valcom solution was relatively smooth; turning up each zone one-by-one. Although it provided for another lesson learned. As with any project, there are adds here and there. With this project, two additional LAN devices were required.

Hence, the installation of new firmware devices. There was point in the cutover when we completely lost the Valcom paging (thankfully, we had the Bogen backup) due to these firmware issues. The issues were so substantial and the customer so important, that Valcom flew their best tech and engineer to Dayton to assist in the resolution on a moments' notice!

Ultimately, we brought this challenging $180,000 first phase in on time and on budget. The customer was incredibly satisfied and, to date, has only had one issue with the system - a VLAN issue brought about when the VA upgraded several switches throughout the campus. While we were not responsible for the problem, Echo 24 was there and assisted in the system fix with the VA IT personnel.

Phase two, valued at $202,000, was significantly smoother - a handful of LAN devices were added, but with twice the number of speakers. The biggest obstacle during phase two was obtaining access to all of the IDF closets. The VA adopted several new security measures between phase one and phase two which had a direct impact on our forward progress.

Many lessons have been learned throughout this project; the majority of them technical in nature. However, as I walked those halls during this project, I cannot help but become overwhelmed by the history and purpose of the Dayton VAMC.

With this VoIP installation, the staff has been given the ability to page over the entire campus whereby getting the appropriate staff member to their patients even faster thereby increasing staff efficiency, patient care, and patient satisfaction.

Knowing that I had a small part in the implementation and forward progress of such an important entity fills me with a sense of pride that is indescribable.