Hospital trustees are a step closer to signing a contract with Cerner, Inc., to be its provider of electronic health records.
At their meeting Tuesday night, trustees discussed the need for the contract to have “teeth” in it to hold Cerner accountable not only for its product but also for its implementation in a timely fashion.
Trustees had reason to be concerned. In the past week many learned that Girard Medical Center had filed suit against Cerner for a breach of contract. Girard had hired Cerner to install a $2.9 million electronic medical records system. After one year and $1.9 million, the project was halted midstream, according to a July 2 article in The Kansas City Star.
Larry Peterson, ACH chief financial officer, assured trustees an attorney and an IT specialist are going over the contract thoroughly.
Peterson said he became aware of the Girard trouble with Cerner, “five or six months ago. We knew about it but weren’t so concerned that we wanted to rule them out,” he said when reviewing bids for the services.
“As long as we do our due diligence we should be able to protect ourselves from a similar incident,” he said.
Trustees requested a summary of demands on behalf of the hospital in regards to the IT agreement before they go any further in negotiations.
TRUSTEES approved $732,420 in payments to Murray Construction. Big items included drilled piers, earthwork, foundation work and under-slab utilities.
Construction is on target with an August 2013 opening.
Trustees and members from the community devised a new mission statement for the hospital at a June 30 retreat under the supervision of Rick Behrens of Building the Public Square.
It is,
Together, we provide progressive, compassionate care that
* promotes wellness,
* relieves suffering and
* restores health.
Still ahead is designing a new logo for the hospital as well as developing a new vision and values statements.
As a name, Allen County Hospital is not in stone. Naming opportunities exist, trustees said, and they are open to suggestions.
In regards to the newly affirmed Affordable Care Act, Peterson said it was good for the hospital business.
“HCA’s stock went up 5 percent,” the day the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Obamacare, Peterson said. HCA is the largest corporation of hospitals in the United States and includes Allen County Hospital.
“If you insure more people, that means less risk for a hospital,” Peterson said. Kansas has about 351,000 residents without health insurance.
