Forsythe Develops Master-Planned Data Center Facility for CHRISTUS Health
Founded in 1869 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, CHRISTUS Health is an international Catholic, faith-based, non-profit health care system headquartered in Dallas. CHRISTUS is comprised of almost 350 services and facilities, including more than 50 hospitals and long-term care facilities, 175 clinics and outpatient centers and dozens of other health ministries and ventures throughout more than 60 cities in Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Georgia, Utah and Mexico.
Business Challenge
The organization’s rapid growth was a significant driver for building a new data center. With advances in digitized medical technology processing, health care storage needs have grown exponentially. CHRISTUS needed more data center floor space and larger quantities of power and cooling.
Solution
Forsythe first worked with CHRISTUS on an assessment of their existing data center infrastructure, and then helped CHRISTUS develop a facility concept plan. This plan determined the scope of the data center project, including the floor plans and the initial capital budget. It also addressed redundancy and reliability, Tier Level requirements and cooling specifications.
A site selection analysis was then needed to determine the best location for the new data center. CHRISTUS had specific parameters in mind for a site: physical security, low traffic and the ability to tap appropriate power and telecommunications sources. The site they selected, located within a technology park, offered power available from two substations as well as numerous telecommunications options.
Results
Once the site was selected, CHRISTUS and Forsythe began construction in January 2008. By November 2008, CHRISTUS had a brand-new, master-planned data center facility. This facility allows for the size of the data center (18,000 of the 48,000 square feet) to be tripled in the future as CHRISTUS continues to grow. The remaining 30,000 square feet of the facility includes: electrical rooms, UPS, IT storage and setup space, a fire protection room, network operations space, a loading dock, corridors, bathrooms and reception and office space for the 75-person IT department.
