Rural Nebraska Healthcare Network partners with industry to deploy $20 million fiber-optic medical network
MAY 4, 2010 – The Rural Nebraska Healthcare Network (RNHN), a consortium of nine rural hospitals and related clinics in western Nebraska, announced a pending transaction with Zayo Group LLC and Adesta LLC that will facilitate the deployment of a new $20M fiber-optic medical network.
The RNHN--using federal funding under the Rural Healthcare Pilot Program of the Federal Communications Commission, in conjunction with funding provided by Zayo Group--will connect 9 primary care hospitals and dozens of affiliated clinics to create an advanced, robust medical technology network.
“This fiber network will facilitate the deployment of advanced medical technologies, and vastly improve patient care and physician communication,” says Lisa Bewley, chief information officer for Regional West Medical Center.
The RNHN will partner with Zayo Group, a Colorado-based provider of Bandwidth Infrastructure and Network Neutral Colocation Services, in the construction of the network that will enable additional commercial telecommunications products to be offered in under-served rural Nebraska.
The proposed 750-mile fiber network spans 12 counties in western Nebraska, and will connect to national research networks such as National Lambda Rail and Internet 2 in Denver, Colorado. Adesta LLC, a local Nebraska company, intends to break ground on network construction this summer.
Almost two years in the planning, the RNHN has used Fiberutilities Group LLC, an Iowa based technology and management firm, to handle the planning, financing, and operational and government coordination functions necessary to make the project a reality.
“This network represents the power of people working together,” says Kent Van Metre, vice president with Fiberutilities Group. “With tremendous support from the FCC, and by partnering with community-oriented organizations like Zayo and Adesta, the RNHN is poised to have a truly state-of-the-art, advanced healthcare network.”
The final stages of federal approvals through the Universal Services Administration Corp. are expected this spring with construction commencing shortly thereafter. The network has a planned completion date of fall 2011.