Carle BroMenn Medical Center
Carle BroMenn Medical Center is a 221-bed short-term acute care facility serving the Bloomington-Normal area. It is also the largest hospital in the Carle Healthcare System’s Central Region.
Originally founded in Urbana, Il. in 1918 the Carle Healthcare System is a trusted partner in medical care for hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents. The Carle Healthcare System is divided into four regions: Eastern, Western, Central, and Southern.
The organization operates eight hospitals across the four regions, along with dozens of smaller offices and outpatient clinics. The organization focuses on providing the best care possible for its patients and is “driven by a deep philanthropic spirit” to solve issues in the healthcare industry, according to Carle’s website.
John Avolio is the Security Manager for Carle’s Central Region. In his position he oversees two hospitals, Carle BroMenn Medical Center and Carle Eureka Hospital along with 15 outpatient and off-campus facilities.
Avolio said he has always been fortunate that Carle is an organization that takes security, along with the safety of its employees and patients, seriously.
“We’re always working on increasing security, we never stop,” said Avolio. “Every year we assess the state of security for our buildings and our clinics, and we’re always looking to improve.”
When it came time to upgrade the security system at Carle BroMenn’s parking garage, he knew he would have their full support.
The Challenge
The parking garage at Carle BroMenn serves as the primary parking location for the majority of hospital staff, and as a publicly accessible structure, presents security risks.
The security cameras used to monitor the structure were ageing and could no longer sufficiently provide the information necessary to keep hospital staff safe. Avolio knew the situation was untenable and reached out to Tech Electronics Technology Solutions Specialist Dennis Grundler.
“They had old, antiquated, analog cameras and the cameras just weren’t giving them the pictures they wanted to see,” said Grundler. “In certain times of the day, it was so glared they wouldn’t see anything.”
Grundler and Avolio knew they had to replace the existing cameras with a more modern solution, but there were several other factors to consider in developing the system.
They had to return to Carle BroMenn’s electrical contractor Wm. Masters to coordinate the installation of new wiring and infrastructure to support their new security platform.
“It was a long process because of the infrastructure that had to be completed before Tech Electronics could go in and actually install the cameras,” said Avolio. “We had assessed the parking garage structure itself, we had to run all the wiring, the cabling, the conduit, there was a lot of planning with our construction project.”
Grundler said they also encountered challenges bringing power to the cameras once they were installed. The Avigilon cameras that were installed are powered over ethernet cables, which are only effective up to 300 feet.
Due to the size of the garage, they were well over that threshold. Instead, Tech installed a climate-controlled cabinet including an additional server and switches to extend the range and power the entire system.
The Solution
Tech was able to implement a new security system including 40 Avigilon cameras across the garage, providing a clear, comprehensive view of the structure for security professionals at the hospital.
Grundler said they installed two different camera models in the garage, each suited to their specific locations within the structure. The first step was installing four-lens, 20 megapixel 360-degree cameras in the main thoroughfares of the garage.
Those cameras provided the necessary range and clarity to monitor each floor of the garage. Second, they installed wide-angle lenses for all the stairways and points of entry so the entire area could be seen from the cameras view.
“I brag about them all the time,” said Avolio. “We were constantly able to see everything. I joke around with hospital staff that Big Brother is watching, especially in our parking garage.”
Both Grundler and Avolio commended Wm. Masters’ work on the project as well, saying their planning and infrastructure work ensured a seamless installation process. Avolio went a step further, saying Tech’s approach was one of the best he had seen as a security professional.
