How to quickly consolidate 25 phone systems and a spider’s web of VPNs

Customer Spotlight

Helio Health, a non-profit substance use disorder and behavioral health treatment system, recently underwent a period of rapid growth. The organization grew to 35 staffed locations, 1,300 residential beds, 970 employees — and an assortment of technologies from multiple providers.

Helio Health’s IT infrastructure was challenging for staff as they strove to support the patient experience they take pride in delivering. With 25 different phone systems and a spider’s web of virtual private networks (VPNs), Helio Health needed to bring everything under one centralized infrastructure.

“We would acquire buildings and services and then connect them as quickly as possible. We had to keep growing to meet patient needs, and that sometimes took priority over our long-term strategy to improve the scalability or sustainability of our infrastructure,” Corey Zeigler, chief information officer for Helio Health explains. “It was starting to become a bit of a mess.”

The non-profit had been growing rapidly, and the complexity of its network had grown with it. As they merged the three companies they had acquired in 2021, Zeigler had to create a plan to integrate it all. The incompatible systems, technologies and vendors had already created challenges for the IT team.

Zeigler knew they could do better. The current network was inflexible and inefficient. The VPNs were on the verge of being overwhelmed as they added users and sites. Bandwidth, shared between residents and staff, was beginning to become an issue due to the ever-increasing volume.

A consolidated technology infrastructure would empower Helio Health to increase efficiency, cut costs and reinvest those resources back into their community. But he also realized that consolidating the network wasn’t enough.

To prevent the same issues from reoccurring as the company expanded in the future, Helio needed a partner that could think ahead. One that could scale with them, and also offer managed services to extend beyond what Zeigler’s small IT team could handle.

They found the partner they needed in Spectrum Enterprise.

Zeigler shared his existing infrastructure frustrations with Spectrum Enterprise account manager Cory Sullivan, and he quickly rallied his team to design a solution that was specific to Helio Health’s challenges.

The network design included a 500 Mbps Dedicated Fiber Internet (DFI) service to two Helio Health locations: the primary facility and a secondary disaster recovery facility. A dedicated 100 Mbps fiber Ethernet service would provide redundant connectivity. Twenty-three locations would be connected with fiber and supplied with private connectivity ranging from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, and the rest would connect via VPN. High-capacity SIP trunking with a centralized private branch exchange (PBX) would replace Helio Health’s legacy phone systems.

Sullivan also suggested Managed Router Service and Managed Security Service. Zeigler could free his staff from maintenance and troubleshooting duties, leaving them more time for strategic projects.

Kory Hopkins, IT Director - Infrastructure for Helio Health, is enthusiastic about the new network, “One of the key benefits with this solution is the scalability. We’re adding locations at rapid pace and it’s not going to require reconfiguration of our network to accommodate that.”

The consolidated network will save Helio Health tens of thousands of dollars over the next few years. For a non-profit with rising demand for their care, this means everything: “I’m confident we made the right decision to partner with Spectrum Enterprise. Anytime we can save a few dollars, it means that we can invest in new beds, new windows, or in amenities that improve the patient, client, or resident experience while under our care,” Zeigler says. “We are always seeking to reinvest resources to improve the patient experience.”

Read the case study to learn more.