Building an Acute Care Facility IT Infrastructure in Southern Arizona
Case Study Overview
Market: Ambulatory Care
Primary Service: IT Leadership
John Lynch & Associates partnered with a newly established, full-service general acute care hospital in Southern Arizona to design and implement a complete IT infrastructure. The 49-bed facility required a robust and scalable technology environment to support over 250 employees, 120 volunteers, and numerous contracted providers. From initial planning through post-launch support, our team provided full-scale IT leadership and project management to ensure a smooth and successful go-live.
This acute care facility IT infrastructure case study demonstrates how comprehensive planning, coordinated vendor management, and healthcare-specific technical expertise come together to support a successful facility launch.
Objectives
- Design and implement an end-to-end IT infrastructure for a new hospital.
- Provide project management and IT leadership from groundbreaking to go-live.
- Ensure timely selection and implementation of an EHR system.
- Recruit and onboard a reliable IT team to support implementation and operations.
- Deliver the entire IT environment within the project timeline and budget.
Challenges
- Coordinating IT planning with ongoing construction over a 15-month timeline.
- Designing a scalable infrastructure to support diverse hospital systems and departments.
- Selecting and integrating a comprehensive EHR solution.
- Managing multiple vendors and stakeholders.
- Recruiting qualified IT professionals during a competitive hiring climate.
Solutions Implemented
To overcome these challenges, the following solutions were implemented:
- Collaborated closely with owners and construction teams to align IT planning with architectural design and construction timelines.
- Initiated and managed the RFP process for EHR vendor selection and procurement.
- Conducted stakeholder meetings with department leaders to determine system and application needs.
- Designed a comprehensive IT infrastructure including:
- Data center layout and specs (electrical, cooling, fire suppression, and security access)
- Cabling infrastructure with copper and fiber networks
- Local, Wi-Fi, and wide-area networks
- Phone and paging systems
- Physical and virtual servers
- Storage area network (SAN)
- Nurse Call system
- PACS solution
- Microsoft environment and email
- Cyber and physical security solutions
- Developed and executed procurement plans for hardware and systems.
- Recruited both temporary implementation staff and long-term IT personnel.
- Delivered hands-on IT project management from construction through go-live and beyond.
Results
- All IT systems and services were delivered on time and within budget.
- The facility went live seamlessly with full IT functionality on day one.
- A highly capable internal IT team was in place to manage operations post-launch.
- The hospital’s technological foundation was built to scale and evolve with future needs.
Conclusion
Client Feedback
“John Lynch & Associates brought leadership, structure, and deep healthcare IT expertise to a complex and critical initiative. Their hands-on project management and ability to align technology with clinical and operational needs ensured our hospital opened with a modern, reliable, and secure IT environment. Their team truly became an extension of ours.”