More for Less: High-Performance Wi-Fi Connects Assisted Living Residents and Staff

By Cambium Networks   June 6, 2022

Residents expect seamless, secure and reliable connectivity. When they also depend on nurses or caregivers, wireless connectivity is vital for residents’ wellbeing.

The Villas, Hackensack Meridian Healthcare’s brand new state-of-the-art assisted living facility in New Jersey, was looking to deploy a Wi-Fi 6 network that delivers an outstanding experience for residents and staff while future proofing the network for emerging IoT use cases. The design had to account for the varied needs across the site from residence rooms, office rooms, the dining area, the outdoor pool and other amenities. They needed a network that would be reliable, easy to manage and provide seamless roaming across the property,

These types of installations are common to elder care properties – where smart buildings and digitally savvy tenants demand a reliable and high-performance network. At Cambium Networks, we build capabilities into our solutions to simplify the process for enterprises and managed service providers (MSP).

More Coverage with Fewer Wi-Fi APs

Future Technologies planned the Villas’ network design and acted as lead system integrator. Future Technologies installed Cambium Networks’ XV2-2 Wi-Fi 6 access points (AP), XV3-8 Wi-Fi 6 APs and cnMatrix EX2052-P switches, all managed under the cnMaestro cloud management and analytics platform. This resulted in 35% reduction in total AP count compared to other Wi-Fi solutions they considered, and reduced hardware and associated installation costs.

Video, a key application on the property’s Wi-Fi network, allows residents to FaceTime or Zoom with family and friends. They’re also watching their favorite streaming platforms. The high volume of simultaneous media streams across a large number of concurrent users meant that the Future Technologies team needed to deliver a good network experience at scale.

More Than Just Video

But it’s not only user devices that are connected. Ultimately, wireless technology can help the Villas’ residents and staff live more comfortably and work more effectively. All control systems, including the HVAC system, nurse call management system, sound systems and smart TVs are connected. The Villas also has some headroom for future IoT use cases, such as robotics for cleaning floors and delivering items to residents.

The Villas is using the cnMaestro cloud management system to monitor and manage the entire network from one screen. MSPs are serving multiple properties at once; cnMaestro provides them a consolidated view of these properties. Rather than sending out technicians, they are able to get more insights and more automation.

Meridian Health, Verizon and Future Technologies will join me to discuss the details and take your questions in our webinar on June 21. Register here. Our presenters include:

  • Stephen Baker, President, Post-Acute Care at Hackensack Meridian Health
  • Robin Goldsmith, Health Innovation Principal, Verizon
  • Peter Cappiello, CEO, Future Technologies

To learn more about the Villas project:

  • Read the press release here.
  • Download the Villas case study here.
  • Listen to The Signal podcast from Wi-Fi Alliance here.

Contact us to see how Cambium Networks and our team of partners can bring our expertise to your next MDU connectivity project.

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