Vpnet Newsletter

VPnet Receives 501(c)(3) Designation from IRS
The Internal Revenue Service issued a positive letter of determination regarding tax-exempt status for VPnet. The 501(c)(3) status for VPnet will create additional funding and grant opportunities that otherwise would not be possible. One such opportunity is Microsoft's Software Donation program, which VPnet is pursuing. If granted, VPnet would receive collaboration software solutions that could be utilized by its members.

VPnet Receives 501(c)(3) Designation from IRS

The Internal Revenue Service issued a positive letter of determination regarding tax-exempt status for VPnet. The 501(c)(3) status for VPnet will create additional funding and grant opportunities that otherwise would not be possible. One such opportunity is Microsoft's Software Donation program, which VPnet is pursuing. If granted, VPnet would receive collaboration software solutions that could be utilized by its members.

VPnet Project Spotlight:

Spokane Community College Partners with VPnet and INHS to Provide Perioperative Training

Spokane Community College allied health instructors are teaching Perioperative Nursing in Omak and Colville, Wash., this fall – without ever leaving Spokane.

This breakthrough course reaches 15 students, including three nurses at Colville’s Mt. Carmel Hospital and two at Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak, thanks to a grant from the Spokane Area Workforce Development Council designed to support continuing education for working professionals.

The grant enables SCC to partner with Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS) TeleHealth and the Virtual Possibilities Network (VPnet) to deliver three quarterly continuing education programs for health care professionals living and working throughout the Inland Northwest.

SCC is utilizing VPnet to link with a Northwest TeleHealth video conferencing system to deliver Perioperative Nursing, targeting RNs throughout Eastern Washington who are interested in operating room nursing.

The class, which is taught on Saturdays and Sundays, originates from a surgical technology classroom in the SCC Health Science Building in Spokane, but can reach students scattered across the region. Classes are conducted in “real-time,” allowing students to interact with instructors instantaneously.

In all, the continuing education class involves 40 hours of didactic/lab instruction delivered via INHS TeleHealth and VPnet, plus 64 hours of clinical experience to be completed at area hospitals. Registered nurses must have at least 2,400 hours of surgical practice to receive certification from the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses.

GameFest Lite
The Grand Opening of CenterPlace at Mirabeau Point Park on September 24, 2005 was the venue for a "sneak preview" of an upcoming community technology event, GameFest Spokane 2006. GameFest is a gaming event planned for April 2006 that will highlight massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). MMOGs are feature-rich, graphic-rich dynamic games that provide a unique experience for players. GameFest taps into the growing popularity of Internet/networked gaming to create an event that invites new, casual and elite online gamers to compete against one another in the medium of digital entertainment. Computer game publishers, hardware manufacturers and consumer electronics companies will demonstrate their latest innovations, while GameFest participants enjoy the opportunity to meet and network with gamers from across the region. GameFest has promoted collaboration and partnerships between public, private and non-profit organizations (i.e. VPnet, EDC, Terabyte Triangle, EWU, Gonzaga, Whitworth, etc.), and is the brainchild of gamerZunion, a local company looking to become the first company to package MMOGs for subscribers. The team put together “GameFest Lite” which was a scaled down version of the larger project, and provided gamers with an opportunity to play the locally-produced Cyan game, Uru. GameFest Spokane will showcase the integration of technology in our region, leveraging the fiber infrastructure in downtown, the wireless hotzone, VPnet and other networks.	A group of "gamers"explore Uru as part of GameFest Lite. Austin Brantingham from gamerZunion describes the mult-player environment to a "gamer". GameFest Lite provided the opportunity for all ages to enjoy Uru.

GameFest Lite

The Grand Opening of CenterPlace at Mirabeau Point Park on September 24, 2005 was the venue for a "sneak preview" of an upcoming community technology event, GameFest Spokane 2006. GameFest is a gaming event planned for April 2006 that will highlight massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). MMOGs are feature-rich, graphic-rich dynamic games that provide a unique experience for players.

GameFest taps into the growing popularity of Internet/networked gaming to create an event that invites new, casual and elite online gamers to compete against one another in the medium of digital entertainment. Computer game publishers, hardware manufacturers and consumer electronics companies will demonstrate their latest innovations, while GameFest participants enjoy the opportunity to meet and network with gamers from across the region.

GameFest has promoted collaboration and partnerships between public, private and non-profit organizations (i.e. VPnet, EDC, Terabyte Triangle, EWU, Gonzaga, Whitworth, etc.), and is the brainchild of gamerZunion, a local company looking to become the first company to package MMOGs for subscribers. The team put together “GameFest Lite” which was a scaled down version of the larger project, and provided gamers with an opportunity to play the locally-produced Cyan game, Uru.

GameFest Spokane will showcase the integration of technology in our region, leveraging the fiber infrastructure in downtown, the wireless hotzone, VPnet and other networks.

A group of "gamers"explore Uru as part of GameFest Lite.

Austin Brantingham from gamerZunion describes the mult-player environment to a "gamer".

GameFest Lite provided the opportunity for all ages to enjoy Uru.

Imagine what happens when ideas and technology come together!

If you would like to learn more about VPnet, including possible membership to the consortium please visit our website at www.vpnet.org for details, or call Steve Trabun at 509-495-2829.