Is it spring or winter? In Colorado, spring does mean winter, right? With April being the seconded snowiest month and showers bringing May flowers, I welcome the moisture. I have a few flowers blooming, and if I can manage to keep the deer away, I hope to enjoy those May flowers. Along with changes in the weather, change is in the air at CRHC as we are adding new services for health information technology. Below is the story on how rural communities won the battle with IT.
It all started about five years ago when a few rural CEOs came to CRHC not knowing what to do about their lack of IT resources. We weren’t sure what to do either so we called a meeting to brainstorm solutions. From these meetings a new organization was born and its name was Data Services for Healthcare Foundation (DaSH) to tackle the lack of IT options for rural healthcare facilities
In the meantime, CRHC was working with rural hospitals and clinics throughout the 47 rural counties to achieve stage one meaningful use. We had our champions David, Lil, Michelle, Danette, Courtnay and Kathryn leading the way. They set out on the Regional Extension Center or REC trail to conduct an IT assessment, assist with vendor selection and contract negotiations, conduct gap analysis, HIPAA security risk analysis, and supported our members as a liaison in the EHR implementation process. Then the time came for the 90 days meaningful use reporting period that ended with attestation and the cessation of financial incentives… And when the federal money was gone, we still wanted to help! So we created a service at a discounted price to continue helping you with your ongoing meaningful use efforts, EHR section and annual HIPAA security needs.
During this time, DaSH realized it could not meet the needs within its organizational capacity. They came to CRHC and asked us to help them continue their mission by assuming the role they played while also expanding the menu of services. DaSH then dissolved on March 31, 2015 and CRHC welcomed the new program.
While CRHC was sad to see DaSH go away, never fear, this story has a happy ending. Our board and staff are excited and believe our journey has just begun. CRHC hired a new HIT Data Analyst, James. He will offer out new IT services as part of CRHCs efforts under THE Consortium. Our new services are: IT remote support, on-site support, vacation relief, special projects and report writing for business intelligence and data analytics.
With the addition of these new IT services, together we will create greater synergy in our work. You currently receive healthy clinic assessments (HCAs) to review and improve your basic business operations; you receive quality improvement assistance through the iCARE program and have access to population health data through the HARC databank.
The moral of the story is that by working Together on IT, quality, operations, and finance we can meet the challenges that you are facing today. As you endeavor to meet the needs of your community, we strive to meet your needs.
Together we thrive. Together we are rural. Together we are Community. That’s how rural communities won the IT battle.
For information on how you can learn more about IT services or any other needs you have please contact us.
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