Our Latest Stage 6 Customer: Great River Health Systems
(10/07/2011)
Solid relationships and open communication keep this longtime Client/Server customer on a high-performing course.


When Great River Health Systems (West Burlington, IA) implemented MEDITECH's Client/Server platform in 1998, they had no idea they were embarking on a collaborative 13-year journey, culminating in their recent Stage 6 EMR Adoption Recognition status from HIMSS Analytics. According to Jackie Welch, RN, BSN, manager, clinical information systems, Great River's evolving relationships with other industry leaders is what has helped them to grow and succeed, during a time of transformation for many hospitals.

"A lot has changed in the past decade, particularly in the area of health care technology. Things are much more complex now. And Great River has evolved, just as our entire industry has had to," she says. "This Stage 6 achievement really is a testament to how far we've come, and to the importance of relationships in achieving the long-term goals of I.T. adoption and quality care."

Support from MEDITECH Opens Doors
According to Welch, the strong bond that formed between Great River and MEDITECH was one of the major reasons for the hospital's success. Like most of the site's clinicians, Welch herself had little experience with computers, when their implementation began. 

"When I started, I didn't even have a PC at home. I really had to learn I.T. from the bottom-up," she says. "But one thing that helped me, and helped our organization as a whole, was the relationship we formed with MEDITECH. Being able to work closely with our I.T. vendor really enabled me to learn the ins and outs of the software, as well as to share with them what functionality our facility really needed."

According to Welch, direct interaction with MEDITECH staff--as well as members of the executive team--helped Great River to set appropriate goals for their EHR adoption. "For example, we brought mobile computing to our clinicians last year, because (MEDITECH Vice President) Hoda Sayed-Friel convinced us that we could," she says. "Collaborating with MEDITECH leaders as well as their Development and Implementation teams over the years has opened a lot of doors for us."

MEDITECH's online resources, such as the Best Practice series, have also given Great River the guidance they need to move forward with their EHR initiatives. "The Best Practices have been absolutely phenomenal for us," says Nursing Informatics Supervisor Angie Box. "These materials have really helped us to improve our clinical quality measures, which is one of our most challenging projects. We have access to the best methods for administering safe, quality care--without having to reinvent the wheel and do the research ourselves."

Friendships with Peers Benefit All
But Great River's collaboration with MEDITECH wasn't the only important connection for the hospital. By working with other high-achieving MEDITECH hospitals in their region, such as Citizens Memorial Healthcare and Mount Nittany Medical Center, Great River was able to exchange ideas about the best ways to implement and leverage their EHR. 

"We first got to know CIO Denni McColm and other leaders at Citizens in 2003, when we were both attending a MEDITECH customer workshop," says Welch. "Since then, we've become wonderful friends. It's been really great for both of us--being able to bounce ideas off of each other and share what we've learned through our own experience with I.T. It's been a win-win situation for all of us."

Box adds that working together with other organizations has been especially helpful for Great River's Meaningful Use preparation. "Getting ready for ARRA is very complicated and challenging. There's just so much to learn, and no one hospital can figure everything out on their own," says Box. "The way we see it, we're all in this together. Taking the time to invest in relationships with other hospitals and work through Meaningful Use issues collaboratively, has given us the knowledge we need to plan for Stage 1 attestation this fall."

Strong Relationships Lead to EHR Success
Going forward, Welch believes that collaboration with I.T. vendors and peer hospitals will continue to be important, as health care organizations prepare for health care reform and future stages of ARRA. "When it comes to relationships, you get out of them whatever you're willing to put in. Making that effort with MEDITECH and other hospitals, we've been able to inspire one another through the challenges," she says. 

"It's so great to see the results of those connections--how some of us who resisted I.T. in the beginning, turned around, and are now among its biggest proponents. Those successes are what keep us going, and will propel us into the future."

 

MEDITECH
Medical Information Technology, Inc.
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Westwood, MA 02090
781-821-3000
www.meditech.com