Awards

Most Wired National Award

Community Hospital Named 2017 Most Wired

Community Hospital, McCook, Nebraska, was named a 2017 Most Wired hospital today, according to Derek Sailors, Director of Information Systems. The hospital received the Most Wired award in 2016, as well, and won the Most Improved category of the survey in 2013 and 2014.

“2017 was another great year for advancement in all facets of Community Hospital’s technology ecosystem.” Sailors said. “As technology continues to progress at a rapid pace, the Information Systems team and all of Community Hospital’s departments continue to evolve and adapt to an ever changing landscape,” he said. “The organization continues to invest in state of the art technology, as well as in our staff to create better efficiencies and outcomes through our Health Information System and our Cybersecurity initiative,” he added.

“Community Hospital continues down the journey of excellence,” said Lori Beeby, Community Hospital Vice President Support Services. “The advancement in systems, security and processes is key in meeting the Most Wired criteria. Congratulations to the Information Systems staff and healthcare team on continuing to work in teams for improvements to our systems and workflow,” she continued.

Community Hospital Named 2016 Most Wired

Community Hospital was named as a 2016 Most Wired hospital on July 6, 2016, according to Lori Beeby, Director of Information Systems. The hospital was also an award winner of the Most Improved category of the survey in 2013 and 2014. “For this year, we had improved in all aspects of the survey areas moving us to the highest designation, the Most Wired, this year,” Beeby said.

“We continue to make great improvements, advancing in technology and electronic medical record usage,” she said. “It has taken a dedicated team of Information Systems members and all Community Hospital departments to accomplish this award. We appreciate the work from the physicians and clinical staff in the many changes we see in the EMR which advances workflow and access to information. The data we collect, use in reporting, and use to make strategic decisions is ever growing. The landscape for health IT is constantly changing,” she added.

“Community Hospital will continue to position ourselves to meet strategic goals around key objectives of making EMRs more useful and shareable, using data to make decisions for outcomes, services and reimbursement models and protecting our assets on the cybersecurity front,” she concluded.

Other hospitals in Nebraska receiving an award include:

  • Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services: Most improved
  • Faith Regional Health Services, Norfolk: Most Wired
  • Nemaha County Hospital, Auburn: Most Wired

Community Hospital Receives 2014 National Technology Award

As in 2009 and 2013, Community Hospital was honored to receive the Most Wired – Most Improved technology award in 2014 from the H&HN Hospitals and Health Networks magazine, a voice of the American Hospital Association.

Community Hospital Receives 2013 National Technology Award

For the second time, Community Hospital has received the Most Wired – Most Improved technology award from the H&HN Hospitals and Health Networks magazine, a voice of the American Hospital Association. The award reflects Community Hospital’s commitment to use technology to enhance patient care with improved communication, efficiency and patient safety.

“I’m excited Community Hospital received this award,” said Lori Beeby, Community Hospital Director of Information Systems. “We continue to make great improvements in advancing technology and electronic medical record (EMR) usage. It has taken a dedicated team of Information System members and all the departments throughout the facility to accomplish this award. We appreciate the work from the physicians in the continued changes we see the EMR making in workflow and access to information; many changes and continued projects affecting so many people.”

The moment a patient is admitted at Community Hospital, technology plays a major role throughout their stay to ensure they receive excellent care. The information system provides access for physicians and clinicians to place medication, lab and radiology orders. The Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) provides order set templates for selection of orders. The departments use this information along with electronic nursing assessments to establish care and treatment plans. The nursing and pharmacy staff work closely to use Medication Administration to track medication records, scanning medications as they are administered to the patient. This allows for patient safety checking against the patient, medication record and selected medication. In addition, Medication Reconciliation allows the medication history and active medications during the stay to be reconciled on admission and discharge.

This year, IS staff introduced Vocera communication badges to hospital staff. Worn around the neck or clipped to a shirt, the badges are somewhat like the communicators on Star Trek. Push a button and ask “Vocera” to connect you to anyone in the facility. Hands-free talking allows them to attend to a patient while calling another provider to assist them in their care. “Vocera” will help employees locate another staff member when they ask it to “find nurse Smith.”

To receive the award, Community Hospital responded to a Most Wired technology survey which focused on four main areas: Infrastructure, business and administrative management, Clinical quality and safety (inpatient/outpatient hospital), and clinical integration (ambulatory/physician/patient/community). H&HN Hospitals and Health Networks magazine has been surveying and awarding most wired hospitals and health networks for 15 years. This year, 1,713 hospitals, roughly 30 percent of all U.S. hospitals, completed the survey.

2009 "Most Improved" on the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study

Community Hospital has been named to the nation’s “Most Improved,” according to the results of the 2009 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released in the July 2009 issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association (AHA).

“I’m extremely excited to have our organization recognized as a Most Improved hospital in the Most Wired Survey,” says Lori Beeby, Information Systems Director at Community Hospital. “It shows our continued commitment to the use of technology and our planning efforts. Our team of experts and the implementation of these systems continue to advance us.”

Four hospitals from Nebraska were named to the national 2009 Most Wired list:

  • Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha – Most Wired
  • Community Hospital, McCook - Most Improved
  • Nemaha County Hospital, Auburn - Most Wired Small and Rural
  • Regional West Medical Center, Scottsbluff - Most Wired Small and Rural

Marking its 11 year, the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study continues to lead the field in analyses and benchmarking of healthcare IT.

The economic crisis is forcing many hospitals to make tough decisions with scarce resources, including delaying and scaling down information technology (IT) projects, according to a newly released survey of America’s “most wired” hospitals and health systems. While progress has been made and incentives to implement IT will be available through the recently passed stimulus legislation, many hospitals still have a long way to go.

“The impact of the economic slowdown on our organization is something that we evaluate on a daily basis, Beeby said. “We continue our philosophy to evaluate IT budgeting, planning and goals around our strategic objectives and information technology plans and not necessarily in reaction to short-term economic slowdowns,” she said. “

“As the health reform debate continues, it is clear that IT will play an even more important role in the health system of tomorrow,” says Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the AHA. “Most Wired hospitals help illustrate IT in action—improving efficiency, quality and safety of care while helping to control costs.”

Hospitals also continue to invest in IT that supports quality and safety initiatives. Investment in electronic medication management is considered one of the fundamentals of using IT to improve care. The 2009 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study shows an overall increase in both provider order entry of medications and electronic bedside matching at the time medications are administered.

New technology that Community Hospital implemented last year included PACS and medical record scanning with physician review and sign-off. PACS, or digital imaging, allows the hospital’s imaging department to process and transfer X-rays electronically. Other information technology Community Hospital uses includes nursing documentation, automated medication dispensing, computerized lab and radiology, facility-wide automated registration processing and patient supply charging.

“This process of adding computer technology has been part of our strategic plan for years,” said Beeby. “We began working on the Hospital Information System (HIS) in 2000 and have been progressing forward since then.”

“It’s a huge process with financial and time commitments to grow our IT systems, from the board of directors on down to every department and employee,” she said. “But more importantly, we do it for the patient’s benefit and outcome. Improved information technology increases patient safety, quality of stay, efficiency and consistency of care,” she added.

Community Hospital will continue to add new technology, as well, she said. With the addition of the new patient wing in 2010, the hospital will add electronic bedside medication administration.

The Most Wired Survey is conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the AHA, 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.

Hospitals are named to the Most Wired list based on a detailed scoring process. This year's survey was made possible through a partnership among Hospitals & Health Networks, the journal of the AHA, McKesson Corp., the AHA and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. The survey asks hospitals to report on how they use information technology to address five key areas: safety and quality, customer service, business processes, workforce, and public health and safety. This year, 556 hospitals and health systems completed the survey, representing 1,314 hospitals. Along with the 100 Most Wired, H&HN uses the results to name the 25 Most Improved, the 25 Most Wireless and the 25 Most Wired—Small and Rural.