Disaster recovery response needed to restore hospital’s mission-critical systems
A turbulent summer storm brought heavy rainfall that overflowed an upstream river area causing a devastating flash flood to rush through the centre of town. The flood damaged more than 70 homes and businesses, including the hospital.
The disaster disrupted critical functions for the pharmacy, food services, laboratory and more. Upon learning there were over six inches of water in the hospital’s large-scale data centre, the Vice President and Chief Information Officer began contacting IT partners to work on disaster recovery efforts.
Service Express team builds over 25 servers in three days
When Service Express received the call, the hardware and service teams immediately created an emergency response plan and raced to help. A group of ten technical engineers was quickly assembled and worked around the clock to prepare over 25 servers within three days. Speed was even more critical, as the hospital had not moved their redundant storage and servers to their newly established data centre, resulting in a total loss. On day four, the service team drove the completed servers on location to install and restore the hospital’s core IS system and other mission-critical applications.
Hospital fully opens to the public five months later
The disaster prompted the hospital to close for the first time in 90 years and resulted in more than £140 million in damages. A mobile emergency room unit from North Carolina provided patient care for the community immediately after the water had receded. Two months later, the hospital reopened its emergency room services to the public. Cleaning and renovating the entire facility continued, and in less than five months after the historic flood, the hospital opened its doors once again. Service Express continues to maintain the hospital’s equipment and provide its IT department with consultative, user-friendly service.
Five Basics for Disaster Preparation & Business Continuity in the Data Centre
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