by Emma Deihle
Alert Rockbridge, a software application used to send emergency alerts, notifications and updates to community residents, reported Tuesday that Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital was having an “Internet connection problem.”
According to Carilion Clinic spokesman Chris Turnbull, the bandwidth issue began around 4 p.m. Tuesday after a Verizon cable was cut in the Lexington area.
Though the hospital’s bandwidth weakened, it did not lose its Internet connection entirely and patient services were not impacted, Turnbull said. He added that all backup circuits and measures worked as they should.
Turnbull said employees toyed with the idea of turning off the public Wi-Fi within the hospital to try to improve the connection, but they decided against it.
Regular operations were restored by 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Because Internet availability is critical for health systems, Turnbull said most systems have preset contingency plans they can employ in the event of Internet shortages and difficulties.
“Carilion and just about every other health system out there has backup plans in place to account for things like this when they happen,” he said.