Client Story
Evolving the use of Sunrise EHR: “We made the right choice”
A journey toward standardization
After operating under Sunrise™ 18.4 for some time, team members at Shenandoah Medical Center (SMC) were seeking a more financially feasible solution. After collaborating with their CDE (client development executive), they concluded that a refined version of Sunrise provided all the benefits they desired in an EHR.
This edition of Sunrise offers a fully integrated EHR system, catering to the specific needs of small community hospitals like SMC. Hosted on Microsoft Azure, the single-platform solution provides end-to-end capabilities that also deliver clinical, financial and ambulatory content. This helps enable organizations to achieve operational and financial success.
Enhances revenue cycle results through a fully integrated solution that uses clinical data to achieve improved financial outcomes
Empowers clinicians to prioritize outcomes using the same EHR platform as large health systems, tailored to address the needs of smaller community hospitals
Guarantees ongoing compliance and aligns with industry requirements through regular platform upgrades
“We came from a highly configurable and customizable platform. We gave a lot of control up because we wanted our EHR to be more standardized,” said Zac Zwickel, CIO.
Implementing this new Sunrise meant that SMC now has access to Altera Managed Services. This alleviates the IT burden and provides the organization with application management services and help desk support. The new system will also enable SMC to migrate from Patient Financial Manager to Sunrise™ Financial Manager, giving more insight into claims, denials and other items via built-in dashboards.
“The collaboration within our team during the transition wouldn’t have been possible if we didn’t have good business partners on the Altera side. It felt like we were all in this together.”
Zac Zwickel
CIO
“We were all in this together”
When the time came to officially kick off the migration project, the team at SMC relied on Altera’s project management experts. According to Zwickel, pre-planning was very smooth as they had a dedicated project manager who went above and beyond. The official project kickoff happened onsite with an abundance of resources ready to assist. “Kickoff went very well because Altera brought the right people in who could answer all of our high-level questions. Once we had the kickoff, we knew our migration would be successful,” Zwickel said.
The go-live process at Shenandoah was a success. The collaborative effort onsite was evident, with team members consistently working and communicating to address any issues as they arose. Altera’s engagement, both onsite and virtually, played a crucial role in the success of the transition, ensuring the team was supported in resolving challenges.
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Providers, nursing staff and other users were quickly integrated into the new system, enabling the clinic to handle its full volume without disruption within just a few days. Shenandoah’s benchmarks were not only met but exceeded, highlighting the efficiency of the activation. “Four days after going live, we reached a point where onsite support was minimal and staff felt comfortable to thoroughly enjoy their weekends,” Zwickel said. One notable aspect was the absence of “show-stopping” issues, emphasizing that patient care remained unaffected throughout the transition.
Providers, nursing staff and other users were quickly integrated into the new system, enabling the clinic to handle its full volume without disruption within just a few days. Shenandoah’s benchmarks were not only met but exceeded, highlighting the efficiency of the activation.
“Four days after going live, we reached a point where onsite support was minimal and staff felt comfortable to thoroughly enjoy their weekends,”
Zac Zwickel
CIO
One notable aspect was the absence of “show-stopping” issues, emphasizing that patient care remained unaffected throughout the transition.
The team members at SMC was pleased with how much engagement and participation they got from their Altera team. “The collaboration within our team during the transition wouldn’t have been possible if we didn’t have good business partners on the Altera side. It felt like we were all in this together,” Zwickel said.
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