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Noah's Place dresses pet care in digital flair

By PAUL SWIDER
Published January 21, 2007

Although he runs an animal hospital, Cat 5 is more for John Hodges than a number for a feline.

"I like technology," said veterinarian Hodges, who owns and operates Noah's Place at 2050 62nd Ave. N.

Hodges has plenty of Cat 5 running through his facility because he uses the computer networking cable to connect the 35 computers running his business.

With so much silicon firepower in the animal hospital, he created an IT department, with plans to farm out as a separate business, Noah's Networks.

"It was either have an IT department or be at the mercy of someone else," said Hodges, who has been in business since 1981 - 10 years at his current address.

Noah's Place will more than double in size, by converting his 5,000-square-foot hospital into a 12,000-square-foot, two-story facility with an intensive care unit, 12 exam rooms, 10 veterinarians and 80 support staffers. The project started in June, and Hodges says he can't wait until the completion in April.

"We were so damned crowded in there that we were stumbling over everyone," Hodges said.

The new building will have lots of technology, including pneumatic tubes to move items quickly from one end to the other. Nearly doubling the number of computers, the facility will include a data center to support digital medical tools.

Hodges already runs digital radiography for animal patients, but his new facility will also have plasma TVs in exam rooms so he can show patients' owners X-rays and other images. Hodges said his networking interest stems in part from the needs of his business.

Simply placing computers around creates problems because they get clogged with pet hair. Instead he runs the business on terminals connected to a main processing center in a separate room.

Noah's Place is a paperless office, Hodges said, except that he also produces all his own external publications like brochures and mailers. The facility also runs a laboratory to test samples from pets. Hodges said he'll also use his IT staff for a third unrelated business: Rainbow Academy, the day care center next door that he bought six months ago.

A man of many hats, Hodges is the general contractor for the construction project, which is something he adopted because he said others couldn't understand the needs of the veterinary business.

He recognizes that he has become very involved in many different endeavors, but he said it's a necessity as times change.

Fast Facts:

Noah's Place

2050 62nd Ave. N

522-6640

http://noahs24.com/

Noah's Networks

729-0344

http://www.noahsnetworks.com/

[Last modified January 20, 2007, 23:34:23]