CCH a Most Wired winner,
7/30/2009
Carson City Hospital (CCH) is one of only three hospitals in Michigan and one of 25 in the nation to be named as a “MOST WIRED—SMALL AND RURAL” hospital according to the results of the 2009 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released nationally in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.
“The economic slowdown is forcing hospitals to look closely at IT spending,” says Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. “Most Wired hospitals are doing their best to stay the course.”
Carson City Hospital has received the Most Wired award seven times since 1999.
“With health care reform on the national center stage, it’s clear that information technology plays an even more important role in the health care of tomorrow,” said Bruce L. Traverse, CCH President and CEO. “We know here at Carson City Hospital that having a solid, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure only improves our efficiency, as well as the quality and safety of care for our patients.”
Information technology and infrastructure at CCH includes the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) throughout the Carson Health Network, remote computer access for its physicians, and a wireless infrastructure for employees and patients. The hospital also has a variety of “behind the scenes” security safeguards in place, ranging from biometrics and digital signatures to off-site back-up systems, firewalls and encryption.
“One example of how important our EMR system can be is that the family doctors in our hospital-owned clinics in Ashley, Carson City, Fowler, Greenville, Ithaca, Lyons and Stanton are connected directly to the hospital,” said Traverse. “Each clinic is wired to the hospital and to each other, which means important medical information can be shared between physicians and with the hospital when it’s essential to a patient’s health.”
Research published last year by a Michigan State University telecommunications team found that the more ‘wired’ a hospital is, the happier its patients are, based on an analysis of patient-satisfaction surveys from more than 1,000 hospitals, according to Traverse. “That’s just one reason we focus on technology, to improve the overall patient experience for every person that visits Carson City Hospital,” he said.
The Most Wired survey is conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association, which uses the results to name the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems. It focuses on how the nation’s hospitals use information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues.
Hospitals & Health Networks conducted the 2009 survey in cooperation with McKesson Corp. and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. The July H&HN cover story detailing results is available at www.hhnmag.com.
Carson City Hospital and its 10 family-practice affiliates make up the Carson Health Network, which is committed to improving the health and wellness of the community. Carson City Hospital is a 77-bed acute-care hospital affiliated with the Sparrow Health System. Located in central Michigan, the Carson Health Network serves the communities of Clinton, Gratiot, Ionia and Montcalm counties. Its affiliated physician offices are located in Ashley, Carson City, Greenville, Fowler, Ithaca, Lyons, Maple Rapids and Stanton. You can learn more online at www.carsoncityhospital.com.
PHOTO ID/CAPTION INFORMATION:
The Carson City Hospital Information Systems (IS) Department is responsible for the hospital’s seventh “Most Wired-Small and Rural” award. Pictured are, left to right, IS Department staff Gary Nielsen, Susan Hilgendorf, John Brown, Tyler Delap, Rich Terry, Givemore Ruziva, Ben Terry, Judy Evitts and Josh Sorrell.
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