Hospitals and medical centers have been adopting unified communications technology more and more lately, and now there’s one more to add to that list. The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C. has chosen Avaya (News - Alert) to provide it with a new UC infrastructure, helping it support its patients and giving its staff a boost.

Avaya Government Solutions will provide the major teaching hospital with a new Avaya Aura platform, replacing the old and outdated communications network it currently uses. The 7,000 communications endpoints in the hospital will all be upgraded with UC capabilities, as well as IP phones and mobile devices, such as the Avaya Flare Communicator for iPad tablets.

The Center will receive ongoing support and installation from the Avaya Connect Channel Partner (News - Alert) standard Communications, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

"Healthcare organizations need secure, reliable communication solutions that can be easily adapted to the way they work,” said Chris Formant, president of Avaya Government Solutions. “With Avaya Aura, we're able to help medical personnel and administrators at the VA's D.C. Medical Center communicate more efficiently, reduce the cost of care and use mobility capabilities to become more responsive. This ultimately improves patient experiences for the tens of thousands of veterans the VA serves."

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center is gaining quite a lot from this deal, and it’s certain to work in its favor – of its patients too. The Avaya Flare Communicator should prove very useful for letting doctors reach their patients quickly, no matter where they are, while it also provides a variety of collaboration tools, such as conferencing and presence. Other various enhancements should improve the quality of communications in the center, helping the staff better help their patients.

As the center treats tens of thousands of veterans a year, it’s vital that they receive health care services dedicated to helping them just as much as they were to helping us.

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