Backup power system serves up data center solution

TriRivers collaborated with data center experts and together decided on installing an Eaton 9390 backup power system.

Image courtesy of Eaton

TriRivers Health Partners, Rockford, Ill., is a health care information technology (IT) organization jointly sponsored by SwedishAmerican Health System in Rockford and FHN [formerly Freeport (Ill.) Health Network]. The collaborative venture provides shared infrastructure and staffing, a regional fiber-optic network and collocation data center services to support more than 5,000 patients who receive care at more than 50 health facilities in Illinois and Wisconsin.

The shared data facilities also provide the health organizations with reliable, centralized storage of electronic health records (EHRs) for enhanced patient security, convenience and productivity. TriRivers operates its information systems from multiple data center locations, including a 33,000-square-foot hosting data center in Rockford and a backup facility at FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport.

The network allows Swedish­American and FHN to reduce costs by sharing infrastructure and staffing for technical and operations support, technical services and data-management functions. The shared network also allows doctors to offer fast treatment for patients, reduce waiting time for diagnoses and provide access to critical care specialists.

To maintain dependable service, TriRivers ensures the ongoing health of its critical equipment and applications.

“All of our medical records are vital to taking proper care of patients, which means that we can’t afford to have downtime, even for maintenance,” says Sheryl Johnson, vice president and CIO, SwedishAmerican.

Top priorities were maintaining a reliable supply of power across the network, receiving warnings and intervening before a potential problem can result in downtime. Further, HIPAA sets the standard for protecting patient data. Any company that manages protected health information and EHRs must ensure that all security measures are followed.

To achieve HIPAA compliance and ensure reliable patient care, TriRivers sought a premium backup power system capable of safeguarding the more than 1,000 virtual mission-critical servers within its data centers. The organization also wanted a solution it could expand if necessary and that would facilitate easy maintenance.

The company collaborated with data center experts and together decided on installing an Eaton 9390 backup power system. As the heart of the system, the double-conversion design of the Eaton 9390 provides TriRivers with the highest level of protection, safeguarding equipment against common power problems.

Because of its high-efficiency operation, the 9390 produces less heat than other systems, which lowers facility cooling costs and optimizes energy usage. The system provides internal expansion capacity to help TriRivers meet future needs economically.

The unit also provides a fully redundant backup power system to minimize the risk of unexpected outages and support HIPAA requirements for network uptime. With instant response to utility conditions, the uninterruptible power supply can quickly detect changes within incoming power feeds to ensure reliable power for continuous operations.

TriRivers also employed Eaton environmental monitoring probes, which enable IT management to collect temperature and humidity readings where racks are located in real time and remotely.

To unify monitoring and management of its power system, TriRivers relies on Eaton’s Intelligent Power Manager software. The supervisory platform allows users to monitor and manage multiple power and environmental devices across the network from a single interface, which helps to ensure HIPAA compliance.

To complete the package, TriRivers outfitted its data center with an enclosure system, a scalable platform compatible with virtually all major servers, switches and other networking equipment.

The racks also provide a secure locking system to heighten security in accordance with HIPAA.