{"id":29401,"date":"2025-07-24T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/?p=29401"},"modified":"2025-07-31T09:33:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T13:33:40","slug":"michigan-medicines-game-changing-hospital-data-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/24\/michigan-medicines-game-changing-hospital-data-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Medicine’s game-changing hospital data move"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Thili
Photo taken by Steve Reynolds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Michigan Medicine had one chance. A hospital’s entire digital core, including real-time care coordination and decades of patient records, had to be moved without disruption. The responsibility fell to a small team working under intense pressure. And they pulled it off flawlessly, not just once but twice: first at UMH-Sparrow, then UMH-West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the critical systems for both data centers live in one ultra-secure facility: the North Campus Data Center in Ann Arbor. By bringing them in-house, Michigan Medicine gained direct control, building a more reliable digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Risks to patient care weren\u2019t an option. The two hospitals, the Academic Medical Center (AMC), vendors, and IT professionals coordinated closely. It wasn\u2019t as simple as unplugging and hauling gear. Every facility is unique, and even small differences in power or layout could cause errors or even a full system outage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Mishka, director of Data Center and Cloud Architecture, explained that the team tackled urgent needs without losing sight of the big picture. \u201c(We) adapted the existing server infrastructure to fit the new data center architecture while maintaining architectural standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Holda, regional chief technology officer, focused on making sure everyone felt supported. He stayed engaged, clearing roadblocks and ensuring the right people had the right information. He stressed, “Transitions of this size are about more than just technology. They\u2019re about people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts precisely mapped server configurations and storage systems. They modeled risk scenarios and designed for no downtime after installation. Mishka noted the \u201cextraordinary coordination\u201d required, from cabinet layouts and cable connector types to power load distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in less than one weekend per data center, engineers physically moved a total of 185 servers and 106 network devices. They relocated 3.6 petabytes of critical hospital data. In real-world terms, that\u2019s 72 million filing cabinets full of information. All of it is needed to keep hospital systems running, and it moved without a single loss.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Staff
Photo taken by Jason Mishka.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On transition weekends, Mishka\u2019s priorities shifted. He ensured their small team had a clear, realistic plan for the first 8 to 24 hours. He emphasized: \u201cWe had to carefully manage our resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Reynolds, regional manager for Enterprise Networking and Communications, and Mishka thanked Data Center Services, Network Architecture, and the Enterprise Networking teams. They stressed that the close collaboration was essential in making the complex transition possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work was not just a technical migration; it was a successful reinvestment opportunity. The transition unlocked significant cost savings. \u201cOver $600,000 annually,\u201d Holda shared. The savings were directly invested in expanding the Wide Area Network (WAN).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That expanded 1.2Tbps WAN Network, now known as the UMH Fabric, links UMH-West, UMH-Sparrow, and the AMC. That, along with four additional 100Gbps redundant circuits for built-in failover protection, strengthens connectivity across Michigan Medicine’s hospitals and clinics by providing reliable connectivity to the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, teams are focused on enabling cross-entity communication. Support tools like a single Epic instance, Sectra One, and future cloud solutions are key steps toward a truly unified digital ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was more than a data center move; it was designed to establish a scalable framework for integration, collaboration, and growth across the organization,\u201d said Reynolds. \u201cOver months of planning, we built strong relationships and eliminated technical barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reynolds explained that staying on schedule required confidence: \u201cOne of the most pivotal decisions was determining the level of risk we could responsibly accept to maintain momentum.\u201d Clear, thoughtful decisions helped everything move ahead while still putting safety first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The successful move shows that even large-scale change can feel seamless when done right. Like we say in IT, the quietest days often come from the hardest work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A small team at Michigan Medicine successfully moved a hospital’s entire digital core, including real-time care coordination and decades of patient records, to the North Campus Data Center without disruption. This move provided Michigan Medicine with direct control, building a more reliable digital infrastructure, and unlocked over $600k in cost savings annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":29404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_umich_oidc_access":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4],"tags":[1159,176,402],"class_list":["post-29401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projects-services","category-features","tag-data-centers","tag-hits","tag-michigan-medicine"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez.png",782,618,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-400x266.png",400,266,true],"medium":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-300x237.png",300,237,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-768x607.png",665,526,true],"large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-600x474.png",600,474,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez.png",782,618,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez.png",782,618,false],"excerpt-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-200x140.png",200,140,true],"themonic-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-60x42.png",60,42,true],"ioslider-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-658x300.png",658,300,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-665x526.png",665,526,true],"400x250-crop":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thili-Rajarantne-UMHRN-Sr.-Network-Engineer-UMH-LR-Nunez-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lisa Nu\u00f1ez, HITS","author_link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/author\/lnunez\/"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"A small team at Michigan Medicine successfully moved a hospital's entire digital core, including real-time care coordination and decades of patient records, to the North Campus Data Center without disruption. This move provided Michigan Medicine with direct control, building a more reliable digital infrastructure, and unlocked over $600k in cost savings annually.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29401"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29427,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29401\/revisions\/29427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}