Hospitals and healthcare facilities must ensure a robust, reliable telecommunications network to support every form of communication. Key spaces include a technology equipment room, a telecommunications entrance facility, and distributed telecommunications rooms.
Technology and communications systems are an essential “life critical” utility for hospitals and three types of spaces are typically required for technology and communications equipment in today’s hospital as follows:
Technology equipment room (TER). Also referred to as the hospital data center, the technology equipment room houses the main networking equipment, application servers, and data storage devices that serve the building. The TER is critical to delivering quality patient care, ensuring regulatory compliance, and enabling collaboration among caregivers. This room must be sufficiently sized, environmentally controlled, power-conditioned, fire-protected, and secured with restricted access. It should be located strategically to avoid any floodplain or known hazards and a safe distance from transformers, motors, X-ray equipment, induction heaters, arc welders, radio and radar systems, or other sources of electromagnetic interference.
Telecommunications entrance facility (EF). In addition to a TER, each healthcare facility will have a telecommunications entrance facility which houses the point at which outside carrier data and voice circuits and services enter the facility and where outdoor cabling interfaces with the building’s internal cabling infrastructure. The EF should be located in a dry area not subject to flooding, as close as practical to the building entrance point, and next to the electrical service room.
Telecommunications rooms (TRs). Distributed telecommunications rooms provide a secure, flexible, and easily managed location for the structured cabling systems, network electronics, and other technology and communications equipment throughout the building. Typical systems and equipment located in technology rooms include data and voice communication, patient monitoring and alarm, nurse call, closed-circuit television, building automation, fire and life safety, telemedicine/teleconferencing, picture archiving and communications systems, and emergency responder radio coverage. A TR should be located in an accessible, non-sterile area on each floor with controlled access directly off a corridor without going through another room. In multi-story buildings, the TRs should be stacked vertically and located as close to the center of the area served.
Regardless of whether one or more information technology functions are outsourced, each healthcare facility will have at least one entrance facility (EF) that is dedicated to the telecommunications function and related support facilities. Its size will depend on the overall square feet (meters) of the building and the services provided. Likewise, each healthcare facility will have at least one technology equipment room (TER) that is not used for any purpose other than data storage, processing, and networking. The EF and TER can be combined as long as the requirements for each individual space are met.
The following ranges can be used for estimating the size of the data center (TER):
- Small hospital — 1,000 to 1,200 NSF (92.9 to 111.5 NSM)
- Medium hospital — 1,500 to 1,750 NSF (139.4 to 162.6 NSM)
- Large hospital — 2,000 to 2,500 NSF (185.8 to 232.3 NSM)
In addition, there should be at least one telecommunications room (TR) per floor, and additional TRs are required when the floor area exceeds 10,000 square feet (929 square meters) and when the horizontal distribution distance to the work area exceeds 295 feet (90 meters). A minimum of 170 NSF (15.8 NSM) should be provided for TERs and TRs, and 190 NSF (17.7 NSM) is recommended to allow for future growth and the potential for an additional row of equipment racks.
Note: Net square feet/meters (NSF/NSM) represents the inside wall-to-wall dimensions of individual rooms.