Hanson said the project has been about the connectivity and it's "all around us."

"When you translate that to the care clinicians give you can see the immediate benefits," he said. "The journey doesn't stop there - we need to get the systems to operate on more mobile devices like PDAs, and vendors need to look at those solutions."

The mobile and communications solution involved quite a few vendors, including Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Inc., and Intel Corp. all claiming some input into the project.

The infrastructure consists of 40 Cisco 1200 Series wireless networking access points, 40 Vocera hands-free communication badges, 10 Dell notebook computers, which operate on customized, battery-powered trolleys known as COWS, or 'computers on wheels,' and six Dell PDAs. IBM designed the installation, upgrade and integration of the Cisco wireless network and the Vocera communications system.

Hanson thanked the vendors for their input and is confident the security of the new WPA network is "medical grade."