TEAM to Build Data Center for Iowa Hospital

TEAM Companies and Iowa Health System will jointly own and operate a new data center in Waukee, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. The facility will house the patient and employee records for Iowa Health System, and be managed by TEAM Companies, which is building a network of data centers in second-tier markets in the upper Midwest. TEAM has existing facilties in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Fitchburg, Wisconsin.

The 46,000 square foot data center in Waukee will be built in three phases, with a total investment of $45 million. The 16,000 square foot first phase is scheduled to open in the thrird quarter of 2009, and will cost $15 million to build. Iowa Health System will occupy half of phase, with the remaining space leased to other businesses.

Iowa Health System is the state’s largest health provider, employing more than 19,000 workers and treating one out of every four Iowans requiring medical care. The new facility will allow Iowa Health to store duplicate copies of patient health records 100 miles apart in TEAM facilities in Cedar Falls and Waukee.

The importance of disaster preparation was reinforced for Iowans during the serious flooding last summer, when local providers TEAM and Involta helped dozens of Iowa companies recover their IT operations.

“When we’re dealing with millions of records every year that contain confidential and critical information, it requires the utmost care and expertise,” said William Leaver, President and CEO of Iowa Health System. "(We) thoroughly and completely understand the responsibility associated with maintaining and managing this data. We don’t take that lightly and never will.”

“We provide secure, redundant systems for Iowa Health so all of their records are safe,” said Mark Kittrell vice president of development for TEAM. “Our relationship with Iowa Health is built upon proven results and trust. TEAM uses proven methods of securing necessary power and internet connectivity redundancy so our customers’ records are secure at all times. We know our formal partnership in our Waukee data center will provide IHS patients and employees with the gold standard of data storage and protection.”

The two organizations will own the data center together as TEAM Des Moines Partners LLC. Groundbreaking for the facility is scheduled for November 24 in Waukee.