SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Staff Utilizing the Video Conference Equipment
FROM: Herbert Drucker, Director (Office of Information Technology, OIT)
DATE: February 17, 2005
SUBJECT: DMH Video Conferencing
The new and faster statewide Polycom videoconferencing system was implemented on November 17, 2004. At this time, all centers and hospitals have access to the video conference equipment. Users will be able to access the system through the OIT Scheduler, an individual who will monitor the schedule and provide technical assistance. The scheduler can be reached at the OIT Helpdesk, 803-935-5550 Option 3 (outside of the Columbia areas call 1-888-802-5219 Option 3).
Staff wanting to schedule a video conference must contact the Center/Hospital Designee, Site Point of Contact (SPOC) for their location. The SPOC will reserve the room and equipment for the user and will make sure that the other participant(s) have also reserved their room and equipment. With this done, the users will e-mail the OIT Helpdesk to place a work order with the start time, end time and all locations involved. The system operates between the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
DMH Video Conferencing is based on telecommunication technology that connects two or more locations over a secure computer network with a camera, monitor and microphone at each location. Once the video conference is scheduled and connected on the OIT network, the DMH staff at each location will experience a totally interactive audio/visual session. At the end of each session, the staff member responsible for the session is directed to complete the automated Teleconferencing Session Evaluation, found on the DMH Intranet Homepage (lower right). For more information on the new Video Conferencing system, please read the DMH Video Conferencing Policy.
Thank you.