Whatever It Takes: Another imethods Healthcare IT Success Story

Transcription

1 Whatever It Takes: Another imethods Healthcare IT Success Story Flagler Hospital, St. Augustine, Florida

2 The Client: Flagler Hospital As a private, not-for-profit healthcare institution with 335 beds and a national reputation for clinical excellence, Flagler Hospital has offered superb patient care since its founding in Flagler was recently named one of Health Grades Top 50 hospitals in the nation and was Northeast Florida s first hospital to receive the ANCC Magnet Hospital Award. They were creative, flexible, available, and totally committed to the success of this process -- and they bent over backwards to make sure each hire was a great fit. - Bill Rieger, CIO Flagler Hospital With a mission of providing the best patient experience with the best staff, the Flagler team is committed to maintaining the highest possible standard of care and utilizing the latest technology to maintain its competitive edge. The Flagler implementation is one of the largest Allscripts Big-Bang implementations in an inpatient facility in their history. The Challenge: Bring 39 New Professionals onboard in 6-8 Weeks In keeping with its commitment to technology and best practices and in compliance with upcoming legislative mandates Flagler Hospital chose Allscripts as its new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) platform in mid The move carried many benefits, including reducing costs over time and improving efficiency and quality of care not to mention the prospect of a $7.2 million reimbursement from the federal government. However, hospital administrators knew that implementing the new system would require an unprecedented hiring effort. Initially, they would have to find eight consultants and 17 full-time employees in weeks rather than months, with additional placements to follow. Flagler made the decision to execute an exclusive agreement with Jacksonville-based imethods Healthcare IT to secure the necessary talent. Flagler s confidence with imethods stemmed from the pair s long-standing and successful professional relationship. Once the agreement was signed, imethods had approximately two months to find, qualify, interview, negotiate with and hire 25 IT professionals in one of the toughest hiring environments in years.

3 The Process: Tireless Commitment and Creative Thinking imethods sprinted out of the starting gate. Leveraging every tool at their disposal, including their strong existing relationship with Flagler. imethods team members crafted a radically streamlined hiring process. It was exhilarating and frightening at the same time, says Melissa Brannon, imethods Health IT s Vice President for Client Accounts. We were confident that we could get the job done, but it was an incredibly ambitious project and we had to think creatively and step up our game to make it work! Overcoming initial reluctance from hospital administrators, imethod recruiters also set up a Google Docs site to provide all participants with continuous access to information. They made themselves available around the clock until the goal was met. Perhaps most importantly, they fine-tuned a fasttrack, two-tiered interview process with stringent deadlines: candidates would be interviewed first on the phone, then, if appropriate, in person or on Skype. The pinnacle of this unorthodox-interview process was the fact that Flagler decisionmakers would have to provide a verdict within four hours of both phone and final interviews. Offer letters would go out to successful candidates the day they were interviewed, a concept in the traditionally glacial healthcare IT hiring environment. While the new process was being conceived and implemented, imethods recruiters aggressively began seeking the right people with the right skill sets to fill the available positions. They enticed prospects from far-flung locations such as Texas, Illinois and Maryland, touting the appealing climate and lifestyle available in Northeast Florida, the opportunity to create a new system from the ground up, and Flagler s strong values and supportive work environment. The recruiters took a highly personalized approach despite the time crunch. imethods commitment to doing the right thing for all participants in the hiring process was evident every step of the way, and the company s good reputation added to the attraction for like-minded professionals. Working against them, however, was high demand in the HIT field versus Flagler s lower level of compensation, relative to healthcare systems in larger metropolitan areas. Also at issue were relocation difficulties stemming from the collapse of the housing market. With creativity and determination, imethods team members established exactly the right dynamic for the search. Having worked closely with the hospital in the past, recruiters spoke knowledgeably about Flagler s care for its employees as well as its patients. As local residents, they personally attested to the natural beauty and easygoing lifestyle to be found on Florida s First Coast. And in consideration of the bottom line, they were able to secure some financial relocation assistance from the hospital while partnering with regional powerhouse Watson Realty to help candidates find the right housing solutions. Flagler Hospital approached the process with similar energy. Senior leaders made themselves readily available and enthusiastically participated in defining not only their needs but their core values as well. The recruiting team then looked for individuals who met those needs and resonated with the respected healthcare institution s values.

4 The Results: Success! Due to an all-out effort by the imethods team working seamlessly with the client, the Flagler Hospital EMR implementation staffing project was an unqualified success. All 25 initial positions were filled by the end of October 2011, and seven additional professionals came onboard in December and January. Melissa Brannon credits excellent working relationships with Flagler Hospital as the foundation of the team s success. We knew their culture well and they knew we would do what was best for them, she says. That relationship and level of trust made all the difference. The innovative and highly-structured process the imethods team created was also important to meeting the project s deadlines. I think it s safe to say that the process will be replicated on behalf of future clients, Brannon says with a smile. Bryan Hassel, Senior Healthcare IT Recruiter, offers yet another metric of the project s success. During this process, we ended up placing two candidates at Flagler that we had a relationship with for over four years! he says. We had never worked with them before they were just people we had met and built a relationship with until the timing was right. It made me feel great that we were able to place them in such an outstanding organization. By the Numbers: 88% Hire Ratio Since the staffing project for the Flagler SCM 6.0 implementation kicked off in August of 2011, imethods has brought in 48 new members to the IS staff (24 FTE s and 24 Consultants). These numbers include both the Clinical Application teams, as well as the Infrastructure teams. Of the 48 employees identified by imethods, 42 have been classified as successful placements, for an 88% successful hire ratio. With the industry average for successful hires hovering around 65-70%, the staffing project to date can be classified as a tremendous success. Preparing for Training: Preparing Best Practices With the Core and Ancillary build well under way, the focus for the implementation shifted towards training. imethods brought in a Clinical Training Coordinator, as well as a Training Consultant to lead the efforts in crafting a design for successfully training the hospital. Flagler asked imethods to bring in 12 trainers to go through intensive Allscripts training, in an effort for those 12 to then become the subject matter experts of the system. They were responsible for classroom training the hospital in an effort to enhance the adoption process. With the Flagler Senior Leadership and imethods having studied Beyond Implementation written by Heather Haugen and Jeffrey Woodside, both were well aware of the critical nature of the training process to a successful project. Activation/Go Live: Unprecedented CPOE In order to continue the success of the implementation, imethods worked closely with the Flagler IT department to prepare for the Go Live! process. imethods helped prepare the hospital staff for this exciting transformation through creative programming. imethods prepared the Activation Team for the effort by providing them with communication documents, intranet access, training, onsite orientation and tours, logistical support and onsite command center. 43 additional healthcare IT consultants served as training resources for hospital staff. By day 3 of Go Live, the hospital had achieved a CPOE rating of 74%. More than 45 days after Go Live, the project has been considered a huge success and imethods continues to provide support in the Optimization phase with preparation for a new version upgrade.

5 The Feedback: imethods Delivers! In the wake of what might be called an extreme hiring process, Flagler Hospital CIO Bill Rieger has nothing but good things to say about imethods. The imethods team really worked to get to know this organization so they could meet our needs and the needs of the people they placed, says Rieger. On the imethods side, Melissa Brannon has equally positive memories of the experience. We love working with Flagler, she says, and I m really pleased and proud that we were able to help them get this project off on the right foot. Partnering with such a wonderful organization doesn t feel like work to me it feels like a blessing! How has imethods stayed involved and added value throughout the implementation one year into the project? imethods has done a great job of helping our team effectively manage the consultants we have on site. They have truly partnered with us in regards to communicating expectations and performance to our consultants, and have consistently delivered. It has also been refreshing to see how they have invested in their people. They build a high degree of rapport in the relationships that they are able to form, and that translates into a more productive implementation. Would you choose imethods again? Why? And I m really pleased and proud that we were able to help them get this project off on the right foot. Partnering with such a wonderful organization doesn t feel like work to me it feels like a blessing! - Melissa Brannon, imethods Health IT s Vice President for Client Accounts Yes, we would feel very strongly about choosing imethods again. One of the leading reasons for our confidence in selecting them again would be because of their processes, specifically onboarding. Their commitment to onboarding the right people in highly efficient time took effort from both our team and theirs, but in the end has been a large contributor towards paving the way for the future of this implementation.

6 The X Factor: imethods Healthcare IT succeeds by providing an enjoyable workplace and building lasting relationships with employees and consultants. With nine Best Place to Work awards, three Inc. 500/5000 listings, and numerous community service awards, we are proud of our record. imethods founders Clint Drawdy and Chad Perce have stayed true to their mission of matching the right professional with the right client since starting their company in Core Values separate imethods from other consulting firms. More than just a plaque on the wall, the Core Values at imethods are the foundation of our business culture and performance. President, COO & Co-Founder Clint Drawdy describes it as follows: Our core values are the heart of everything we do. From interviewing, to hiring to following up and especially to servicing our clients and our community. Ardent service- we take an authentic human interest in employee and client success Tireless efforts- we encourage an energetic and cheerful drive to succeed Truthfulness- we believe transparency and truth are vital We live out our Core Values every day. Careful sourcing and selecting of employees has led to our successful placement ratio of 90%, proving our commitment to employee and consultant relationships. Most of our consultants are sourced via referral from other consultants with whom we have worked. imethods provides clients with custom and enthusiastic consultation focused on job execution. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters - Colossians 3:23-24 imethods was founded on firm Christian beliefs and principles. In essence, our mission is to serve our internal employees, consultants, clients and community. Delivery of positive results- we follow through for our clients, candidates and company Constant learning and development- we believe in continuing education and open exchange of information among clients, candidates and employees 2009 Community- we seek positive relationships in the office and beyond 11 CEO & Co-Founder Chad Perce, who was recently named Small Business Leader of the Year, attributes imethods success to a strong employee adoption of the company s core values.