SEAFORTH – Comcentric Networking Inc. has been selected as the preferred supplier for Site Connectivity Services for the Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership based on its proposal to the Partnership dated May 8, 2000 and the subsequent proposal presentation on June 13, 2000.

This project is expected to demonstrate Comcentric's leadership in next generation IP networks. Comcentric has planned, designed, and implemented an IP (Internet Protocol) network running over a Gigabit Ethernet backbone blanketing Huron and Perth Counties. It is the largest implementation of Gigabit Ethernet to date outside of any major metropolitan center in Ontario.

“This initiative is a key enabler for our future information needs.  The WAN will provide universal Internet access for E-mail, create a virtual workplace through remote access; facilitate teleradiology; facilitate information sharing and results reporting; provide voice-over-IP capabilities; provide a link to our Southwestern Ontario hospital alliance partners; and facilitate video conferencing and its associated applications.  Technology is the enabling tool that will help us move our Huron and Perth community hospitals forward in this new decade,” said John Sutherland, Vice President Finance and Information Management.

For a program of this scale and complexity, Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership needed a supplier it could rely on, that supplier was Comcentric Networking Inc.  "We discussed our requirements with a number of potential suppliers, but in the end it was clear that Comcentric Networking Inc. was the right candidate," Sutherland said. "A combination of excellence in technology, systems integration and implementation, and network management made Comcentric the natural choice."

The Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership solution will be based on more than just Comcentric's LAN extension solutions.  As an applications provider, Comcentric is also providing firewall, secure remote access, E-mail services and Internet access.

"This is a landmark project for Comcentric, and a validation of our leadership position within the next generation IP network and IP services markets," Glenn Grubb, President of Comcentric said. "We are providing our customers with the strategies, tactics and tools to harness the power of IP networks to enhance business performance and further corporate integration of systems and services."

In May 1998, the Board of Governors of the eight hospitals in Huron and Perth Counties signed a Partnership Agreement.  This voluntary relationship resulted in the creation of a Joint Executive Committee with representation from the eight hospitals responsible for Strategic Planning, a single hospital administration, joint clinical planning and other significant areas of co-ordination.  This unique rural-urban hospital network model facilitates the balance of local autonomy and system-wide benefits and opportunities.