Innovative mobile strategy transforms the patient experience

Delivering exceptional digital experiences has been a journey for this healthcare provider. When patients and their families struggled to get cell service at some medical centers, the provider set a mission to outfit its healthcare systems with reliable communication services and the most advanced Wi-Fi available.

ThunderCat first deployed Mist Wi-Fi in 2016 to support patient engagement, wayfinding, and patient safety at a medical center in the Southeast. Since then, ThunderCat has rolled out Juniper Series High-Performance Access Points, driven by Mist AI, at two healthcare campuses in the Mountain West.

When COVID-19 drove healthcare leaders to rethink how to deliver the best care possible, Juniper networking unlocked new options. 

ThunderCat designs, deploys, and manages infrastructure that enables the delivery of high-touch experiences to patients, guests, and staff at multiple medical centers in the US using AI-driven enterprise solutions from Juniper.

“The Juniper Mist microservices cloud architecture is a big advantage,” says Gordon McKinley, mobility services manager at ThunderCat. “It brings together many different capabilities—all the Wi-Fi connectivity types and even 4G/LTE. Virtual Bluetooth Low Energy, or vBLE, arrays are integrated into the access point.”

The addition of AI-driven network operations and actions, including Juniper Mist Wired Assurance and Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, streamline network support at each healthcare campus.

An AI-driven Juniper wireless network made an immediate difference at the medical center in the Southeast. A mobile app allows patients and caregivers to navigate healthcare resources throughout the medical center.

The wayfinding solution, which taps into the Juniper Access Points and Mist User Engagement services, reduces the stress and anxieties associated with a hospital visit. It also tackles the issue of tardy arrivals, which is a costly problem for the healthcare provider.

A flexible Juniper network has also led to innovative ideas for better care.

For instance, at one location, IT created a “Wi-Fi on a stick” in only 2.5 weeks, using a Juniper Access Point and EX Series Switch, to bring Wi-Fi services to an outdoor ICU. Patients suddenly gained access to Internet, video streaming, and email services to help them pass their time at the hospital.

At another location, the Juniper network plays a critical role in letting families communicate with quarantined loved ones when cell service was unreliable. Adding Juniper wireless helps ensure that families and friends can video chat with patients when they cannot be in the same room.

During these tough times, AI-driven Juniper networking supports asset tracking at multiple healthcare campuses. Nurses can use a convenient app to pinpoint the location of missing equipment like wheelchairs, giving them more time to spend on patient care and less time hunting for lost equipment.