Community Corner

Community Aids Chelsea Community Hospital's Electronic Medical Record Implementation Efforts

Local businesses provide "camp theme" services for Chelsea Hospital visitors during medical record transition training.

In an effort to streamline patient processing, the Chelsea Community Hospital has added a $12 million electronic medical records system to their arsenal.

The system went live earlier this summer and eliminates the use of paper medical records, prevents transcription errors, eliminates the need to decipher handwriting and helps cut the wait time for test results.

Jennifer Berry, marketing manager for the hospital, said the hospital's efforts to implement the new Genesis software was a community project.

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Each hospital that implements Genesis goes through a two-week 'go-live' period, during which many out-of-town support staff come in to help with the transition. To make the event fun, hospitals typically select a theme to use during the implementation, which is carried throughout the décor, printed pieces and welcome kits given to the visiting support staff, Berry explained.

"With our wooded campus, we selected 'Camp Genesis' as our theme,” Judy Stratman, director of marketing and development said. “The idea was turned over to the creative genius of Janice Ortbring, president of Edgar Norman Creative. Administration and marketing absolutely loved the pieces that were created."

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Hospital visitors checked in each day in one central Welcome Center location that provided them with the information they needed.

"We knew we wanted to stay true to our camp theme and loved the idea of creating a wooden structure with a outdoor camp-like feeling,” Stratman said.  “I contacted Chelsea Boy Scout leader Allen Cole and asked if his local troop might be interested in building a center for us as a community project.  Allen received overwhelming support from his troop, and over a two-weekend period, the boys and leaders created the most perfect welcome center for the event."

The scouts involved with the project included Steve Mattison, Scott Sullivan, Allen Cole, Brian Cole, Joshua Cole, Nathan Cole and Elijah Dobos.

Other Chelsea organizations also joined in on the fun. The Chelsea Teddy Bear Company provided Camp Chelsea T-shirts for the hospital's mascot teddy bears. Scott Eckland of Chelsea Signs provided signs for guests. The Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express provided rooms for 200 visitors and other buisnesses provided discounts and programs for guests.

“Every effort was made to help our guests feel at home, thanks to the support of so many here in our community,” Stratman said. “Many people commented on the fun and well-executed camp theme, which truly helped showcase our hospital and our wonderful community.”


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