Rush-Copley Joins City's Fiber Optic Network

Rush-Copley Medical Center has become the first healthcare facility to utilize Aurora’s 60+ mile fiber optic network through a partnership with OnLight Aurora, a not-for-profit organization which brings the advantages of the network to the City’s community anchor institutions.

Rush-Copley Medical Center is a 210-bed hospital providing a comprehensive array of health and wellness services in the greater Fox Valley area. Rush-Copley is a leader in state-of-the-art healthcare in Illinois' second largest city and its adjacent communities with dynamic centers of excellence – each designed to meet the needs of a growing and diverse population.

Rush-Copley joins a multitude of Aurora businesses, non-profits and educational institutions enjoying an alternative path to the internet made possible by the fiber optic ring. 

“When we tested and demonstrated their connectivity to the internet, Rush Copley was impressed with the speed and latency,” said Mark McCoy, OnLight Aurora Board Member. “When we demonstrated the speed connecting to other OnLight Aurora customers they could see the endless possibilities.”

The connectivity positively impacts Rush-Copley’s service to patients and increases opportunities to collaborate with other organizations in Aurora.

"Rush-Copley prides itself on being a technology leader with the high level of medical care we provide the community, according to Rush-Copley Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Diederich.  He added, “The OnLight initiative is in total keeping with our commitment to advanced medicine and our promise of extraordinary care to our patients and guests.  The speed and reliability of the fiber optics is enhancing real-time patient care efforts and bringing direct Internet access to those that make daily use of Internet access throughout our facility," he said.

In this current age of portable technology and instant connectivity, bandwidth needs are increasing both from internal staff needs as well as the patients and their families in the waiting room.

Connectivity to the fiber optic network will allow Rush Copley access to two-way audio and video conferencing which has the potential to provide both patient and medical service providers with a very efficient tool to diagnose and treat patients. In addition, the hospital will have access to the network’s data center to store volumes of information in an approved secure setting.

"The OnLight Aurora connection is a critical, redundant Internet access tool for us, ensuring that patients, guests and caregivers are connected immediately. The OnLight Aurora project has incredible potential for our future growth and technology needs," said Dennis DeMasie, Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Rush-Copley.

Rush-Copley will also have direct and immediate access to schools, social service agencies, and businesses that are also connected to the network which will result in collaborative education and training that will benefit the entire community.

“To be able to connect the current high school Health Care curriculum with a world-class, respected organization like Rush, will transform education as we know it and provide our students will the tools necessary to advance their studies in ways we never thought possible,” said Don Ringelstein, Director of Technology for West Aurora School District 129.

“Rush-Copley has been a significant part of the fabric of the Aurora community for generations. Its use of cutting edge technology as a regional healthcare and research institution is further enhanced by its connectivity to the fiber optic network ring,” said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. “While the hospital will benefit from faster broadband connections at lower costs, patients will benefit from greater access to information and education, and the area business community will see that Aurora is not just the City of Lights, but the City of light speed,” Weisner continued. 

In 2013, OnLight Aurora has provided connectivity to educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and an array of businesses including West Aurora School District 129, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, Aurora University, Alarm Detection Systems, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and PDS. Aurora Christian Schools, Indian Prairie School District 204, and a number of Downtown Aurora are expected to be connected in the near future.

Summer 2013 Network Construction Projects Underway

The first phase of an aggressive summer fiber network construction schedule has begun. This phase will include new core network expansion through the northern end of the network to provide better access to developing business parks and medical center growth. Of greater importance, this new fiber opens new opportunities for redundant Internet connections for this highly available network and the ability to better control access costs.

Included in this and the next phases of construction in 2013 are more new lateral connections to all user categories served by OnLight Aurora including healthcare, business and education. One of the more important of these laterals will enable the use of wireless point-to-point connections, a lower cost alternative available for lower bandwidth users. New technology has opened this connection method to the market with the highly available profile required of this network along with the ability to carry high throughput. Users will be able to commence activity by mid summer.

OnLight Aurora is Gigabit Challenge Grant Recipient

Illinois Governor Quinn and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity have granted OnLight Aurora and Aurora Illinois a $1 Million grant to further develop the City of Aurora fiber optic network. One of the most robust networks in the state, this fiber optic network currently spans 50 miles of the city and will add an additional 15 miles through the grant process. OnLight Aurora will use these funds to connect the community anchor institutions of Aurora to the fiber to provide access to high speed broadband and the ability to collaborate with other organizations on the network.

These community anchor institutions include area schools, both K-12 and higher education as well as public and private, medical centers, social service agencies, arts & entertainment and businesses. In today’s economy, these connections are the fourth utility, an essential component to properly function and grow. Connection to this growing fiber network offers data center capability, and collaboration opportunities along with a highly scalable, highly competitive information technology tool. Users will then have highly available access to both voice and data network service.

OnLight Aurora is an Illinois not-for-profit with offices in Aurora Illinois serving the community by providing low cost, highly available and scalable access to the City of Aurora’s fiber optic network. Its services are designed to support and foster economic development growth and promote organizational collaboration through this network.