Regardless of the healthcare organization, patients are always the focus of the services and care that is provided. That’s what makes the healthcare industry special. Teamwork is necessary from organization to organization. You see it on the frontline every day. Hospitals often transfer patients out for a higher level of care or to rehabilitation providers. These transitions must be seamless for the benefit of the patient. That teamwork between different organizations is obvious, but what is not obvious is the teamwork I experienced between my organization, Ozarks Healthcare, and another healthcare organization more than 400 miles away. While patient care remained to be the priority, this story lives behind the scenes.
In the spring of 2023, Share Medical Center (Share), a critical access hospital and MEDITECH partner in Alva, Oklahoma, was in the final stages of preparing to go live as a MEDITECH MaaS site. It was at this point that Share and Ozarks Healthcare (OZH), in West Plains, Missouri, became acquainted.
As Share was moving into the final build and testing phase, they were faced with losing their IT Director and MEDITECH Implementation Specialist. The Share CEO, Kandice Allen, reached out to OZH’s CEO, Thomas Keller, a longtime family friend, to see if there was any guidance we could offer. This was the beginning of what is now a great partnership and friendship between two MEDITECH organizations.
OZH gathered its team of analysts, and Webex meetings were set up with Share for introductions, review, and planning. Having been through the Expanse conversion three years earlier, and finding stability with the system post-Covid, we were in a good position to help out after looking at their build. Although OZH is not a MaaS site, there are a lot of similarities between hosted and on prem, a testament to the versatility of MEDITECH Expanse.
After several meetings, a lot of emails, and an onsite visit by myself, Kandice Allen, and Share CFO, Angelica Brady, we determined they would move ahead with a July 1 go-live date. It was a lot of work, but they have a great team. As the date approached, I asked the OZH team if anyone would be willing to donate their time and join me over the Fourth of July weekend to go onsite in Alva for the go-live. There were several who agreed, including our CMIO, Dr. Priscilla Frase.
On the eve of the go-live, our OZH team made the seven-hour drive and together, the two organizations jumped into final prep and planning. From OZH, we had representation from ambulatory, acute, registration, and scheduling, as well as our CMIO to offer provider support. The following morning, we joined Angelica’s team and the MEDITECH team in the war room. Our joined teams were able to provide support from a seasoned Expanse site, which was a great advantage. I think this would be a great model for all organizations looking to convert or upgrade to the MEDITECH Expanse platform. By day two, the three teams had integrated into one with a common goal.
There was a time in the Ozarks Healthcare journey that we had other MEDITECH hospitals helping us with enhancing our processes and knowledge, and we still do. We are now also able to return that blessing and help others in our MEDITECH family. At the root, this is what we all are, an EHR family. The relationship between Share and OZH continues to this day. We still have calls and Webex meetings to touch base and discuss optimization. Kandice, Angelica, and their team are now solid with a great IT leader back in place. For my part, I will always feel like a part of the Share team. We hope to go back this July (maybe not on the holiday weekend) to have a one-year anniversary celebration.
Author
EZ Niles
Executive Director of Information Technology
Ozarks Health Care