SHS Named 2009 Most Wired Hospital
For the second year in a row, Spooner Health System (SHS) has been named one of the nation’s Most Wired healthcare facilitiesaccording to the results of the 2009 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released in the July issue of
Hospitals & Health Networks (
H&HN) magazine. The award will be officially presented to representatives of Spooner Health System later this month at the 17
th Annual Health Forum/American Hospital Association Leadership Summit in California.
This year, SHS ranked among the top 25 “Most Wired—Small and Rural” healthcare organizations. “Small and Rural” is defined as a healthcare facility with 100 or fewer beds.
“We couldn’t win just on the basis of we’d accomplished last year,” explains Mike DiPasquale, Information Technology (IT) Director of SHS. “We completed the entire evaluation process all over again. We also had to demonstrate that we’ve made substantial progress since last year.”
A few of the major technological initiatives that SHS has completed during the last year include:
- An automated system for dispensing medication in the nursing areas (Omnicell).
- A pilot program for Computerized Physician Order Entry.
- Wireless internet access in some parts of the facility.
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Winning the Most Wired award two years in a row has been a team effort, involving the IT team plus every other department at SHS. “The IT department was the vehicle,” says DiPasquale, “but it took all of the employees at SHS working together to actually make this happen.”
“It’s truly an honor to receive this award,” says Mike Schafer, CEO of SHS. “Not for its own sake, but because it acknowledges our commitment to making continued technological advancements that will help us provide the top quality care our patients deserve.”
The Most Wired Survey is conducted annually by H&HN magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association (AHA), which uses the results to name the top Most Wired hospitals and health systems in the United States. It focuses on how the nation’s hospitals use information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues. The July
H&HN cover story detailing results is available at
www.hhnmag.com.