Bethesda Health Group Delivers Personalized Resident Care, Enhances Security, and Saves Six Figures with HPE Aruba Networking Expansion
February 28, 2024 at 11:03 am EST
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Leading continuum of care provider adds security for its cloud-first environment by embracing Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) with HPE Aruba Networking Security Service Edge (SSE)
To securely and seamlessly provide innovative, individualized, and compassionate care in 16 residential communities and via in-home services, 24 hours a day, Bethesda Health Group is adding HPE Aruba Networking Security Service Edge (SSE) to its end-to-end HPE Aruba Networking ESP (Edge Services Platform) solution by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228016461/en/
To securely and seamlessly provide innovative, individualized, and compassionate care, Bethesda Health Group is adding HPE Aruba Networking SSE to its end-to-end HPE Aruba Networking solution. (Source: Bethesda Health Care)
The expansion builds upon Bethesda Health Group’s existing wired, wireless, and Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) security with a fully cloud-delivered Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform that mobilizes 1,100 Bethesda caregivers across two states and connects several thousand residents to their care teams, families, and friends. “Adding HPE Aruba Networking SSE to our networking infrastructure to gain a full SASE solution is critical to securing our cloud-first organization and meeting evolving customer expectations,” said Mike Keller, Director of Technology for 134-year-old Bethesda. “Many of the seniors we serve today have relied upon computing technologies at work and in their personal lives. They value cybersecurity protections and expect us to safeguard their personal data – regardless of where it resides, while ensuring that staff can rapidly and securely access assets for delivering exceptional care.”
Collaborating with trusted partner InterVision, Bethesda started the journey by first migrating away from its incumbent Cisco networking infrastructure to adopt HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN. This provided Bethesda with a secure, centrally-managed, high-performance WAN that reduces costs and dependencies on legacy Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) telecommunications connections. “In addition to obtaining technological advances from EdgeConnect, eliminating MPLS saved us six figures over the life of the contract,” Keller said. Subsequently, the organization standardized on market-leading HPE Aruba Networking Wi-Fi access points (APs) for wireless connectivity, and HPE Aruba Networking’s CX Series Switches for wired networking. The organization also adopted HPE Aruba Networking Central, for AI-powered management, along with HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass, for role-based network access control (NAC) of wired and wireless endpoints and IoT solutions. With the most recent addition of HPE Aruba Networking SSE, Bethesda is now able to provide their users with fast, secure access to private and externally managed applications and improve IT staff visibility into access events. Added capabilities include zero trust network access (ZTNA), secure web gateway (SWG), and cloud access security broker (CASB)—all consolidated into a single, easy-to-use cloud service that automatically adapts policies based on changes in user, device, and application context. “No matter which application our staff needs to access, whether it’s the EHR, HRIS, or billing, deploying HPE Aruba Networking SSE enables us to grant access only to the exact applications a staff member needs, unlike our legacy VPN that introduced risk by providing access to every application on our network,” said Keller. “Further, because HPE Aruba Networking SSE is an open platform, we can use our existing identity access management (IAM) system, making everything seamless for our staff because they don’t need to learn something new or take multiple steps—the security is just there.”
Bethesda is excited about the benefits of standardizing on a complete, unified networking and security solution from HPE Aruba Networking. “We’ve gained comprehensive networking infrastructure that is cost-effective to own, easy to maintain, and scalable for meeting our future needs,” said Keller. “In short, it enables us to administrate a large footprint that is distributed across state lines with a lean IT staff—all without breaking the bank.”
HPE Aruba Networking SSE is the further development of Axis Security’s cloud-based SSE platform acquired by HPE earlier in 2023. This expands the capabilities of HPE Aruba Networking’s edge-to-cloud security portfolio, building on HPE Aruba Networking’s existing EdgeConnect secure SD-WAN and next-generation firewall capabilities. The combination provides a complete edge-to-cloud unified SASE solution, ensuring Zero Trust security controls can be applied to people and devices, no matter where they connect, whether on campus, at a branch, in a home, or on the road. To learn more, visit HPE Aruba Networking. For real-time news updates, follow HPE Aruba Networking on X/Twitter and Facebook, and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and HPE Aruba Networking products, visit the Airheads Community. About Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) is the global edge-to-cloud company that helps organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way people live and work, HPE delivers unique, open, and intelligent technology solutions as a service. With offerings spanning Cloud Services, Compute, High Performance Computing & AI, Intelligent Edge, Software, and Storage, HPE provides a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, helping customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance. For more information, visit: www.hpe.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228016461/en/
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company specializes in the development of IT solutions and services for businesses. Net sales break down by activity as follows: - development and integration of technological solutions (83.9%): servers development and server management solutions, technology services, consulting, maintenance services, implementation of infrastructures and technical support), development of convergent data storage solutions and systems, sales of network systems and development of management and network security solutions; - financial services (11.7%): mainly financing services for the digital transformation of businesses; - other (4.4%). Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (33.1%), Americas (6.9%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (36.1%), Japan and Asia/Pacific (23.9%). Sector

Bethesda Health Group Delivers Personalized Resident Care, Enhances Security, and Saves Six Figures with HPE Aruba Networking Expansion

Baptist Health, Bethesda Health merger finalized
CAPTION
The hospital company known as Bethesda Health, whose roots as a Palm Beach County area healthcare provider date to 1947, is now officially merged into Baptist Health, according to a news release by Baptist Health. Announced two years ago pending a 24-month transition period, the merger took effect Sunday. It increases the size of Coral Gables-based Baptist Health to 10 hospitals, more than 40 physician practices and about 50 outpatient facilities. Bethesda Health operated two hospitals in Boynton Beach — the 401-bed Bethesda Hospital East on South Seacrest Boulevard between Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 and 80-bed Bethesda Hospital West on West Boynton Beach Boulevard, just east of U.S. 441. Prior to the merger announcement in 2015, Bethesda Health had grown to 670 physicians and more than 2,500 employees. Its system also includes Bethesda Health Physician Group, Bethesda Heart Hospital, Bethesda Orthopaedics Institute, Cornell Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, the Center for Women and Children, the Bethesda College of Health Sciences and accredited centers for Stroke, Chest Pain and Heart Failure. Baptist Health has more than 2,400 physicians and 16,000 employees and operates numerous specialty centers, including Baptist Health Center for Robotic Surgery, Baptist Health Neuroscience Center, Miami Cancer Institute, Miami Cardiac & Vasculat Institute, and Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute. The merger marks Baptist Health’s entry into Palm Beach County. The system, with eight hospitals in Miami-Dade County, has moved gradually into Broward County over the past decade, opening urgent care facilities in Coral Springs, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Sunrise, and Weston. Baptist Health facilities in three of those locations — Coral Springs, Davie and Pembroke Pines — also include outpatient diagnostic centers. “Our organizations share similar values and a steadfast commitment to providing quality healthcare to our patients,” the news release quoted Brian E. Keeley, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health, as saying. “Together, as not-for-profit mission-driven organizations, we will enhance our capabilities and carry out our common goal of providing compassionate, patient-focused comprehensive care to our community.”
Courtesy Baptist Health
Bethesda Hospital West campus on West Boynton Beach Boulevard, just east of U.S. 441, Boynton Beach. The hospital, along with Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Health’s other health facilities, became part of Coral Gables-based Baptist Health on Oct. 1. Bethesda Hospital West campus on West Boynton Beach Boulevard, just east of U.S. 441, Boynton Beach. The hospital, along with Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Health’s other health facilities, became part of Coral Gables-based Baptist Health on Oct. 1. (Courtesy Baptist Health)
Bethesda Health will continue to exist as part of Baptist Health South Florida, a Baptist spokeswoman said, and Roger Kirk will remain its president and CEO. Kirk was quoted in the news release as saying the merger reflects Bethesda’s commitment to serving Palm Beach County for many years to come. In October 2015, Kirk told an industry website, South Florida Hospital News, that Bethesda’s board of directors sought a merger after concluding that survival as a freestanding hospital organization would be tough. “We wanted to find a system with a similar culture, vision and mission, and concluded that Baptist would be a good match,” Kirk told the site. The roots of Bethesda Health date back to 1947, when a group of southern Palm Beach County residents created the Gulfstream Hospital Association with the goal of building a hospital to serve the region. A 1955 referendum created a hospital district, which issued a $975,000 bond to fund construction of the 40-bed Bethesda Memorial Hospital on a 10-acre tract in southwestern Boynton Beach donated by aviation tycoon and developer Warren Grimes. The hospital opened in 1959.

Baptist Health, Bethesda Health merger finalized

Baptist Health South Florida signed a letter of intent with Fishermen’s Community Hospital, a nonprofit in the Key’s Marathon, to explore a potential affiliation. Dori Robau Alvarez , a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Baptist, said a merger is among the options being considered. It’s already the largest hospital operator in Miami-Dade County with five hospitals plus Mariners Hospital in the Keys. Fishermen’s Community Hospital has 25 beds and 161 employees. According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the hospital earned $337,212 on revenue of $25.2 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. It had a bed occupancy rate of 20.9 percent. “Both parties are guided first and foremost by a shared sense that the two organizations have compatible not-for-profit cultures committed to quality and community benefit,” the hospitals said in a joint statement. “The two organizations are working toward a definitive agreement and expect to become affiliated in 2017.”
Baptist already has a merger lined up. It expects to close its combination with Boynton Beach-based Bethesda Health on Sept. 30, 2017. Brian Bandell covers real estate, foreclosures and health care. Get the latest news with our free daily newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Related Content

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Bethesda Health has been recognized for its remarkable “Commitment to Care” (C2C) transformation initiative in the fall issue of Sunspots magazine by The Florida Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). The article, written by Bethesda Health CFO Joanne Aquilina, explains why today’s hospital financial leaders must focus more on operations, patient care and quality control to guide financial success. “Bethesda Health knew that it had to create an infrastructure for efficient, reliable, predictable care delivery, to sustain exceptional operational performance,” said Aquilina. “That, in turn, would be the key to increasing volumes and revenue while controlling costs—and moving margins back into the black.”
Aquilina goes on to describe the “production model” for care and patient-first, zero defect culture Bethesda adopted, collaborating with Atlanta-based Care Logistics. With this new model, the two Bethesda Health hospitals are achieving dramatic improvements in length-of-stay, CMI and reimbursements, care quality, patient satisfaction, and financial performance. Among the results Bethesda has achieved with Care Logistics are:
    Place patients efficiently and appropriately from the ED to appropriate units
    Strengthen collaboration and relationships with the medical community by creating a high reliability organization
    Cut preventable harm and associated infection rates
    Reduced acute length of stay more than half a day while improving care quality measures and patient satisfaction
    Increase care mix index from 1.30 to 1.41 while reducing cost per case
The complete article is available here: http://www.carelogistics.com/media/1135/bethesda-profile-hfma-florida-magazine-fall-2015.pdf
About Care Logistics: Care Logistics partners with hospitals to establish a patient-first, zero-defect “production system” for care. This Hospital Operating System transforms hospital operations, powered by culture change, a hub-and-spoke care coordination model, and logistics software. The results: The best possible patient care and experience your hospital can deliver, with the greatest efficiency at the lowest costs. For more information, contact Care Logistics at (800) 930-0870, or learn more about the dramatic results Care Logistics customers are achieving at http://www.carelogistics.com . About Bethesda Health: Founded in 1959, Bethesda Health, Inc., is a healthcare organization serving the medical needs of South Palm Beach County with a mission to provide quality health services in a caring manner. With two not-for profit hospital, 401- bed Bethesda Hospital East and 80-bed Bethesda Hospital; West, Bethesda Health is comprised of more than 67- physicians and 2,700 employees. Bethesda Health and its affiliates offer a full array of healthcare services, including Bethesda Heart Hospital for cardiovascular services, general, vascular and endovascular surgery maternity, neonatal and pediatric intensive care, women’s health and the Bethesda Comprehensive Cancer Center. Bethesda Hospital West, which opened in January 2013, is an all-private room, state-of-the-art hospital, with a 24-hour Emergency Department for adults and children to serve our western communities. Bethesda Hospital West provides general medical, surgical and intensive care services, imaging and rehabilitation. Learn more at: http://www.BethesdaWeb.com
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/12/prweb13143509.htm

Bethesda Health Profiled by HFMA Put the Patient First and All Good Things Will Follow

October 14, 2015
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Bethesda Health has implemented a patient identity management solution that uses iris recognition technology with the aim of raising patient safety standards and safeguarding patients from medical identity theft and fraud at the point of service. The health system launched the RightPatient biometric patient identification management platform it its two hospitals, Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West, in both inpatient and outpatient registration centers. In addition to safeguarding patients from medical identity theft and fraud, the patient identity management system also prevents the creation of duplicate medical records. According to a statement, Bethesda Health chose RightPatient because it utilizes a safe, secure data storage system to record an image of the patients’ iris, which is a unique biometric measurement, and this advanced system can reduce medical errors caused by patient misidentification. Roger Kirk, president and CEO of Bethesda Health, said implementing RightPatient is a key component of the health system’s overall strategy to ensure the highest levels of patient safety for its community. “We continue to make every effort possible to protect patients from the dangers of duplicate medical records, medical identity theft and fraud and are committed to adopting advanced technologies that enable us to provide the highest quality of care. Plus, RightPatient also offers the flexibility to extend accurate patient identification to any patient touchpoint that requires patient identification accuracy to ensure optimal outcomes,” Kirk said. Mizan Rahman, CEO of RightPatient, said the company worked closely with Bethesda Health staff to customize the biometric patient identification management system for the hospital’s specific Siemens Invision electronic health record (EHR) workflows. Health IT Summit Series - Focus:  CYBER-SECURITY
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Bethesda Health Using Biometric Patient ID Technology

Baptist Health South Florida is a faith-based, not-for-profit health care organization with an outstanding reputation for medical and service excellence. The company offers an extensive range of medical, surgical and technological services,  including weight-loss surgery, pediatrics, addiction treatment, and cancer care. The company was founded in 1960 and is based in Coral Gables, Florida.

Baptist Health South Florida

October 2 , 2015 -- Baptist Health South Florida , headquartered in Coral Gables , and Bethesda Health , headquartered in Boynton Beach , have signed an agreement to merge , pursuant to a 24-month transition period culminating on September 30 , 2017 .

Baptist Health South Florida and Bethesda Health Sign Agreement to Solidify Affiliation Plans.
Marketing & Communications                                            Public Relations & Marketing.

Care Logistics provides healthcare operational solutions, focusing on patient throughput, resource management, and hospital efficiency. The company offers a digital platform, CareEdge2, which provides insights to healthcare leaders for decision-making and resource management. Care Logistics serves the healthcare industry, focusing on hospitals and health systems. It was founded in 2008 and is based in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Care Logistics

Curtin University

WA Health

St John of God Health Care

Merger

Bethesda Health is a fully accredited, community, not-for-profit hospital offering a full array of healthcare services through their Centers of Excellence.

Date	10/2/2017
Round	Merger
Amount
Investors	Baptist Health South Florida
Valuation	$XXM
Revenue	0 FY undefined
Sources	2

First funding	10/2/2017
Last Funding	10/2/2017
Investor	Baptist Health South Florida
Rounds	1 Merger
Board Seats
Type	Corporation
Location	Florida

Date	11/30/2015
Investment Stage
Companies	Baptist Health South Florida
Valuation	$XXM
Total Funding
Note	Merger
Sources	1

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1 Acquisition