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Panasonic Security Systems — Scottsdale Healthcare

Scottsdale Healthcare Employs Unique Hybrid Video Surveillance Solution

Built On Panasonic Technology by Panasonic Security Systems

As the provider of choice for the greater community of Scottsdale, AZ, Scottsdale Healthcare’s mission is to identify and provide exceptional healthcare services to the community. A nonprofit organization, Scottsdale Healthcare was founded in 1962 as City Hospital of Scottsdale. Today Scottsdale Healthcare serves the entire Northeast Valley and beyond with three hospital campuses, outpatient centers, home health services, and a wide range of community health education and outreach programs.

With a combined staff of over 6,500 populating its three hospital campuses, Scottsdale Healthcare services thousands of patients annually. The large volume of pedestrian traffic in and around the numerous buildings comprising Scottsdale Healthcare calls for tight security 24/7. To accomplish this, Scottsdale Healthcare employs a uniquely configured hybrid video surveillance system built on a combination of best-in-breed network and analog video surveillance solutions from Panasonic Security Systems.

The daunting task of continually expanding and evolving security and video surveillance capabilities at Scottsdale Healthcare is the job of Lyle Smith, Manager of Safety, Security & Emergency Preparedness. “When I started at Scottsdale Healthcare, our IT department had already installed some web cameras to monitor their IT rooms. They were viewing the cameras locally for their own purposes, and then started expanding the deployment of cameras for general surveillance applications, so our system expansion has been an integrated effort with IT from the beginning.” “When I came on board, I wanted to further expand the facilities’ video surveillance capabilities to address critical security issues. We sat down with our IT people to make sure that we were going in the right direction and to address bandwidth allocation issues,” continued Mr. Smith. “We needed a way to balance our security needs with IT operations so that the video surveillance system did not overwhelm the facility’s network with continuous volumes of video and control data pouring over the network at all times.”

One of Mr. Smith’s primary security objectives was to link the three hospital campuses together for centralized monitoring and control. With the three campuses located seven to ten miles apart, it was imperative to utilize the existing network backbone. The challenge was to devise a system configuration that allowed adding more cameras to the system while minimizing bandwidth utilization. Another objective was to replace existing web cameras with new Panasonic i-Pro Series professional network cameras to capitalize on their superior imaging capabilities and features.

“Working closely with our dealer, Lanmor Services, Inc., a Panasonic Authorized Dealer, we came up with a solution that promised to deliver better control while maximizing available bandwidth,” said Mr. Smith. The team of Mr. Smith, Kip Cunningham, VP/General Manager at Lanmor, and Lowell Kramer, Western Regional Integration Specialist, designed a system solution employing a combination of IP and analog satellite video surveillance systems connected on a networked platform for centralized monitoring and control. John Dobradenka of the Pacific Group, Panasonic Security System’s sales representative in the area, provided additional design and support for the project. The hybrid system employs a variety of Panasonic IP and analog cameras feeding into remotely located Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and Network Video Recorders (NVRs). Video and camera control signals are then networked into Scottsdale Healthcare’s command center without the need for any video servers or additional coder/decoder (CODEC) devices.

The key to the unique configuration solution designed and implemented by Lanmor is distributed architecture. By deploying a series of satellite video surveillance systems, Scottsdale Healthcare can easily manage many video surveillance cameras and recorders remotely via a network backbone, regardless of their native platform. In areas where cameras are installed using CAT5 cable on the network, video signals are directly input to a Panasonic WJ-ND300A NVR which allows as many as 16 cameras to be multiplexed digitally. In those areas where analog cameras are installed, the cameras are connected using standard coax cable to Panasonic WJ-HD300A Series DVRs which provide IP digital outputs for seamless integration with the facility’s existing networked backbone. All of the cameras are digitally routed through the respective DVRs and NVRs onto the network where they are centrally viewed, controlled and managed using Panasonic’s WV-AS65 PC Management Software.

“This unique hybrid configuration was the best viable solution for us as we didn’t have the funds required to install a separate dedicated network specifically for video surveillance and security applications,” said Mr. Smith. “In fact, we don’t have the need for an additional dedicated network using this implementation model and we’ve all but eliminated previous issues concerning bandwidth.” The Panasonic WJ-ND300A Network Video Recorders deployed at Scottsdale Healthcare offer scalable operation and ease of installation with auto IP detection and set-up. The units feature 960ips @ 32 cameras refresh rate (MPEG-4) and multi-format recording (JPEG/MJPEG/MPEG-4) with data stream control between live and recorded images. The WJ-ND300A accommodates up to four optional hard drives on-board plus an optional external RAID 5 and/or expansion modules allowing a total of 28 hard drives. For the analog based systems, Scottsdale Healthcare relies on Panasonic’s WJ-HD300A Series DVRs that provide over 500 TVL, high density recording (60ips/120ips@CIF) with full rate live multi-screen resolution (60 to 960 ips) and a base disk capacity of 500GB expandable to 15 Terabytes. With the addition of Panasonic’s WV-AS65 PC Management Software and WV-CU650 System Controllers, Scottsdale Healthcare can eventually network up to 100 Panasonic NVRs and DVRs simultaneously to continue to provide a versatile hybrid analog and digital solution.

Scottsdale Healthcare has been upgrading and expanding it video surveillance system with a variety of Panasonic IP and analog PTZ, dome and fixed cameras. The cameras provide coverage of emergency rooms and the pharmacy, as well as all entrances and exits to monitor and record pedestrian traffic. Other key surveillance areas include supply loading docks and areas where high-end medical equipment is delivered and stored. Cameras are also deployed in pediatric and infant care areas to complement Scottsdale Healthcare’s comprehensive abduction prevention systems. To date there are over 125 cameras installed with plans in development to double that number over the next year. To supplement their advanced video surveillance capabilities, Scottsdale Healthcare’s security staff includes a highly trained canine unit certified by the Arizona Law Enforcement Canine Association. The canine patrols are active 24/7 and are used mainly as a deterrent according to Mr. Smith. “We continually train and test our dogs because they have to be very compatible with people, yet aggressive on command, and still pass rigid annual certification criteria,” said Mr. Smith. “We believe this an outstanding program and one of the best possible deterrents we’ve employed over the years.”