Critical Emergency Communication System

What happens when a major disaster strikes?

Whether it’s an airline crash, a train derailment, a multi-car pileup on the Transcanada, or a pandemic, The Hospital Emergency Preparedness Committee of Ottawa (HEPCO) coordinates available hospital resources.

Made up of emergency planning representatives from the healthcare sector in Ottawa and supporting agencies such as police, fire, Ministry of Health, Ottawa Airport Fire, Ottawa Red Cross, and amateur radio, HEPCO does the vital work of keeping its members in contact with each other.
HEPCO needed a reliable and efficient communications system so the groups could keep each other informed, the whole hospital network could work together, and resources could be immediately directed to the hospitals that need them.

The key to this coordination?

A radio system that communicates in a work group mode. Unlike cell phones, where calls are made to individual units, the work group radio talks to all sites as one group. This allows the managers to instantly hear the whole picture. Radio makes the coordination of multiple sites a snap.
Peter Gamble of Willowfalls Consulting was tasked with finding a suitable upgrade and replacement for the system. "Glentel / Time MCI presented a well thought out solution for the TimeTrac system that provides the coverage and robustness the hospitals need."

HEPCO chose Glentel / Time MCI’s TimeTrac advanced MPT 1327 radio system to replace their essential, but aging, emergency communication system for several reasons.

The Glentel TimeTrac radio network, highly reliable and able to cover a wide area, has advanced features, yet it is simple for the users to operate in the stress of an emergency situation.

The system had to allow personnel to communicate from various locations within the hospitals.

Glentel / Time MCI also supplied an advanced VoIP Ethernet remote that allows communication to be established anyhere within the local area network (LAN).

This is an emergency system and it is not used on a daily basis, so the remote system monitoring of the Glentel TimeTrac radio network was also important.

Mr. Gamble recognized that if the old system failed, the users would not know until they went to use it. HEPCO needed a system that is always ready and working. The Glentel TimeTrac system continually monitors itself and reports any problems to our Network Operations Centre (NOC). This ensures that the system is always working and ready for any emergency at any time.

The Glentel TimeTrac system offers a greatly expanded coverage area and allows for portable radios that can be deployed on scene as needed.

The HEPCO was looking for a solution that would provide a modern, robust system to replace the existing 1980's technology. This required a turnkey solution that included all engineering and installation services as part of the proposal.

The individual HEPCO locations were responsible for site preparation, including providing suitable space for equipment installation, AC power, and appropriate in-building cables between the radio equipment and remote desk unit locations.

The Glentel TimeTrac system meets or exceeds all of the criteria laid out by Mr Gamble. The hospitals get the benefit of a trunked system that is very robust, at a good price, with the features they required and options for future enhancements.

The 11 base stations used in the solution are all controlled by tone remote. The coverage of the Glentel TimeTrac system encompasses the whole of the Ottawa Valley, Brockville and much of Lanark County.

Glentel / Time MCI was excited about the project as an investment in our local community and offered the HEPCO organization special system access features and at significantly reduced pricing.