Macquarie Telecom has signed a deal with aged care provider Royal Australian Air Force Association (RAAFA, Western Australia Division), under which it will deliver SD-WAN capabilities and help the organisation prepare for the digital aged care future.
RAAFA is a trusted retirement living and aged care provider in WA operating six retirement villages comprising 1,420 living units and apartments, 19 assisted living units, 446 residential care places and 14 short stay accommodation units.
“RAAFA is putting its residents first by building a network capable of delivering home care technology our elderly need,” said Macquarie Telecom Group Executive Luke Clifton.
As part of the deal, Macquarie Telecom has rolled out its SD-WAN service to facilities in Erskine and Albany struggling with poor bandwidth and internet connectivity. Prior to the deployment, staff at the two sites could not reliably access services such as security, CCTV monitoring and financial systems.
The network also experienced a complete outage on a monthly basis,” said the telco. It noted that the technology had boosted speeds five-fold, reducing outages to zero and bringing it up to speed with other sites.
“One of the key terms of reference for the planned Royal Commission into aged care is how to ensure more people can remain at home as they age,” said RAAFA ICT GM Craig Burkett.
“Technology will play a huge role in that – through sensors in the home, virtual reality and more,” he said. “We’re leveraging the full suite of Macquarie’s services, including SD-WAN and cloud, to build a network across all our facilities that will enable us to provide a higher standard of care for the elderly in WA.”
