More than seven years ago, Palmerton Hospital in Palmerton, Pennsylvania approached PenTeleData with the need to go online. In 1996, the hospital added just six full-access dial-up accounts to its network, which marked the start of Internet access to its facility.

Today, PenTeleData provides the hospital staff with the latest technology solutions, comprehensive service, support and dedicated high-speed DirectNet Internet access -- including a wireless solution for the office.

"Within the last year, almost all of Palmerton Hospital's employees now have the advantage of e-mail and Internet access at work," says Judy Remmel, IT Department Manager.

PenTeleData's suite of dedicated DirectNet Internet services includes ATM, T1, T3, Frame Relay, Cable and DSL options, enabling a health care customer like Palmerton Hospital to maintain, advance and develop its technology plans.

Furthermore, the Integration Service Team (IST), a department within PenTeleData comprised of respected information technology specialists who work with you and your business on-site are industry pros who make house calls installing networking solutions, managing software upgrades and lending a helping hand to customers like Palmerton Hospital.

Late in August of this year, after a recent virus attack disabled several hospital servers, Judy immediately contacted PenTeleData's IST, described the crisis situation and added that she was all alone - without a network administrator at her facility.

"I immediately called PenTeleData's Sales Manager. She stayed on the phone with me and we talked to the IST Manager. I described my problem to the both of them," she says. "Within 30 minutes, IST had someone on site at the Palmerton Hospital. They had gone out of their way to help me in my dilemma.

"I had not only one employee here from PenTeleData to help me, but two. They are two of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met. When they left the hospital, they told me to call them with any problems or concerns that I had. I would recommend PenTeleData to anyone. They saved my day and now I can sleep at night!"

As unlimited Internet access has become more prevalent at the workplace and more employees depend on a fast, trustworthy connection to do their work, Palmerton Hospital has tapped PenTeleData to put more and more of its facility online.

Because the hospital doesn't maintain its own mail server, Judy cites PenTeleData's helpfulness in assisting the hospital with e-mail account creation as an example of how it has been especially grateful for PenTeleData's friendly customer service and support.

"Since we do not have an exchange server," she says, "I need to call Cathy in Sales to set up e-mail addresses. She has always been very helpful to me throughout the whole process of getting e-mail added and configured correctly."

Judy says the care always taken by each PenTeleData representative in helping get the job done right has left a positive, lasting impression on her and her staff.

"Working with the service technicians who installed our point-to-point wireless site was a pleasure," she says. "They were very professional and kept me informed of the progress and overall completion of the installation.

How else has service with PenTeleData helped Palmerton Hospital directly?

Judy says the hospital's alliance with PenTeleData is strong from receiving dependable Internet access over many years, helping the facility stay in constant contact with the outside world and its staff.

"Reliance on PenTeleData's solutions has greatly improved our communications both internally and outside of the hospital."

The renowned quality of PenTeleData's Internet and network engineering solutions help out the hospital in more ways than one - Palmerton Hospital employees participate in intensive teleconferencing courses from the convenience of their own workplace, enabling greater productivity and cost-efficiency.

"It has given us the ability to perform online training and attend virtual WebEx seminars," she says.

WebEx's services are powered by a globally distributed information-switching network specifically designed for the delivery of multimedia web communications.

If you've traveled virtually anywhere around eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania within the last few months, you've probably taken note of the stylishly colorful, life-sized mules parked on the sidewalks striking unique poses.

Miles of Mules is part of a regional community arts program partly sponsored by Bethlehem-based arts organization ArtsQuest at The Banana Factory, organizers of PenTeleData-sponsored Musikfest. The program runs from June through October and features over 160 life-sized works of art in cities, towns and villages in Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Luzerne Counties - a region recognized by Congress as the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor in 1998. Based on an idea first introduced in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998, Miles of Mules is a public arts project that aims to emulate the success of 800 decorated, life-sized cows that were placed on public display throughout the city and countryside, attracting thousands of visitors to that European nation.

Later, like-minded large-scale public arts projects featuring snakes, fish and other animals cropped up in Baltimore, Cleveland and in other cities and towns around the world, also with overwhelming success.

PenTeleData is proud to sponsor a mule of its own "Muley Maguire" -- a play on the name of the legendary Molly Maguires, the dreaded band of Irish immigrant miners that settled in northeastern Pennsylvania in the late-1800s. Muley Maguire used to stand on the south side of Broad Street in Bethlehem between New and Guetter Streets, directly opposite the Boyd Theater.

Today, Muley Maguire resides in the courtyard in front of PenTeleData at 540 Delaware Avenue in Palmerton, Pennsylvania - right down the street from "Patches", a mule sponsored by the Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce, located directly in front of the borough office building at 401 Delaware Ave.

The last mule to be sponsored on the project, Muley Maguire was created by the students at Intermediate Unit 20 in Northampton County, part of a program called the "Second Chance Academy". As the program name suggests, these students have encountered some misfortune in their lives and are part of a program to assist them in making better choices and better decisions at key moments in their maturity.

But why mules?
In the 1800s, mules shouldered the brunt of our region's economic development by pulling mine cars and towing canal boats, transporting the lifeblood of coal from underground to bustling marketplaces in Philadelphia and New York. Today, the mule remains a strong icon of our distinct national heritage.

With endorsements through sponsorships, countless businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations, individuals and families have come forward to support the over 160 life-sized, fiberglass mules decorated by renowned and emerging local artists, schools and others. Each mule demonstrates the creative talents, styles and personality of each artist, in diverse and unique mediums including sculpture, paint, mosaic and more.

Already, many mules have been bought for permanent collections, and the rest of the herd will be auctioned during a special event November 1. PenTeleData will direct the proceeds generated at the auction to a non-profit organization of the company's choice.

Organizers say they hope residents of the area and tourists visiting our region check out as many mules as possible throughout the five-county corridor, and encourage everyone to enjoy as many mules as they can.
Read more about the Miles of Mules public arts project, look at pictures and study a map of mule locations at www.milesofmules.org