St. Luke’s University Health Network is a multi-hospital system affiliated with more than 1,200 doctors serving the greater Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. In 2004, master site planning began to build the St. Luke’s Hospital – Anderson Campus, a state-of-the-art medical facility set against a serene, natural landscape.
Part of the 500-acre land acquisition included the original remaining structure on the property, a wooden barn thought to be from 1875. Rather than level the structure, St. Luke’s invested in the property and through extensive restoration and remodeling, has turned the structure into a beautiful conference center, that is lovingly referred to as “The Barn.”
We chose the Polycom piece because it combines video, voice and multi-way content sharing all in one device.
For security purposes, the technology was not integrated into the space in the normal fashion. Instead the system components were designed to be demountable – so the room takes on a fully integrated appearance when in use, with the equipment housed in a separate room when the space is unoccupied. This by no means compromised the level of technology that is being utilized in the space. The room includes Crestron touch panel control and videoconferencing through the Polycom CX5000.
“We chose the Polycom piece because it combines video, voice and multi-way content sharing all in one device,” stated Felix Quach, Field System Technician for St. Luke’s University Health Network. Along with being a full voice and video solution, the CX5000 also offers a 360° panoramic view of the conference room, something that makes for quite an impressive image when dealing with the great architecture within The Barn.
The conference room is constantly in use and Quach feels it has to do in part, with the ease of use of the technology that was chosen. “You have to make it simple for everyone, that is the key,” stated Quach. Whether it is the simplicity, or the high-level meetings that it provides, the technology in The Barn on the St. Luke’s Anderson Campus has helped to breathe new life into this fantastic piece of history.