Unicorns aren’t typically what you think of when talking about a major go-live project at a new hospital. But for Pam Hill, senior technical project manager with Baptist Technology Systems, meeting the November 2017 hard deadline for Baptist North Mississippi’s grand opening meant pulling out all the stops.
“My job was to keep everything on time and on budget,” said Pam. For a project that took nearly four years, keeping her tech teams motivated through tough, technical challenges remained her utmost priority.
“There were 100 different things happening at once and we had to consider everything from electrical to the furniture.” The tech teams installed 1,010 PCs in the 680,000 square foot building. In fact, the technology is so leading edge, the hospital teams had to play catch up. While it may seem like Pam and Baptist Technology Services (BTS) teams would appear only as the construction neared the end, she was there during the early days, working closely with the contractors to make sure the miles of cables and infrastructure fit the tech plan.
But what about the unicorn? “Everyone knows I love unicorns. At first, we created an Ox as a mascot for this project, but he was soon replaced by the unicorn because I pushed unicorns, rainbows and Skittles to keep the mood upbeat!”
The BTS teams worked tirelessly, carrying long hours and heavy workloads. And when it came time to move the patients, the technical side of the hospital was ready. And what happened to the unicorns collected over the project timeline? They’re now living on her office windowsill.
What do a few go-live numbers look like?
- 6,981 cables installed
- 469 wireless access points
- 267 Voalte wireless phones
- 350 TVs installed
