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Successful MEDITECH Customers Share Journeys to Stage 6
Reaching Stage 6 is an impressive achievement for any hospital, but especially for small, rural facilities—which typically have fewer resources and limited staff for tackling major improvement initiatives. However, Citizens Memorial Healthcare (Bolivar, MO) and UW Health Partners-Watertown Regional Medical Center (Watertown, WI) have managed to overcome these obstacles, as they are among the handful of hospitals under 100 beds to receive the prestigious Stage 6 recognition from HIMSS Analytics. We recently had the opportunity to interview the clinical systems staff from both of these organizations to find out how they overcame the barriers to excellence and learn what recommendations they have for other MEDITECH customers.
Gail Gerth, clinical systems manager at Watertown Regional, discussed how closing the medication loop with Bedside Verification (BV) was the key to reaching Stage 6. The hospital's electronic documentation system, EMR, and Patient Status Board are now integral parts of the daily nursing workflow.
Katie Wohnoutka, clinical systems analyst at Citizens, shared her perspective on the benefits of being 100 percent electronic. The hospital achieved Stage 6 while maintaining its focus on patients, and is now working toward Stage 7 recognition and positioning itself for ARRA funding.