Data storage upgrade at Greater Regional made early to avoid tariffs

In order to operate with comprehensive archives, Greater Regional will expand their internal data storage.

IT Director Mark Williams requested a replacement and expansion to the data storage at the Greater Regional board meeting. The expansion will add a new appliance to the data storage. The total cost of the requisition will be $122,000.

The total digital storage was reaching max capacity of 30 TB and an expansion of an additional 30 TB of capacity was needed to continue preserving essential data. This data includes backup and archival data of internal hospital files.

Williams noted, due to the nature of digital data not having elasticity, continuous expansions of data storage is needed. He said the only way to reduce the amount of expansion needed is to reduce the amount of data being saved.

Greater Regional’s IT department had purchased the storage before board approval, citing their expectation of prices rising following the Trump administration’s scheduled tariffs on electronic components. Their expectations for prices would have rose 20% if they did not purchase early.

The purchase was made with the blessing of CFO Matt McCutchan, who said it was better to buy it early at a lower price and “ask for forgiveness.”

The board also approved a requisition for new radiology work stations. The requisition aligns with additional hiring for the radiology department.

In other hospital board news...

A public hearing was held to amend the hospital’s budget for the current fiscal year. An additional $4 million was added to the budget of $120 million to account for higher construction costs. The addition will not impact taxes and was explained by McCutchan as a “bookkeeping entry for the state.”

The Creston Police Department’s new K9 unit fund of $33,000 will be met following Greater Regional’s community reinvestment donation of about $13,000. The CPD had raised $20,000 already.