(Madera, California) – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is pleased to announce that Valley Children’s Healthcare has earned the 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition. Valley Children’s is a certified level 8, showing top scores in technology infrastructure, security and data management – all of which help improve patient safety and outcomes.
“Valley Children’s is committed to ensuring we provide the best care for kids – and committed to supporting our patients and families throughout their care – and technology is certainly an essential element in both of those goals,” says Valley Children’s President and CEO Todd Suntrapak. “This important recognition demonstrates that we continue to make great strides in technology transformation for our kids, their families and our teams”
The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively healthcare organizations apply core and advanced technologies to their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities.
“Digital transformation in healthcare has accelerated to an unprecedented level since 2020, and the next few years will bring a wave of innovation that empowers healthcare consumers and will astound the industry,” says CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell. “The Digital Health Most Wired program recognizes the outstanding digital leaders who have paved the way for this imminent revolution in healthcare. Their trailblazing commitment to rapid transformation has set an example for the entire industry in how to pursue a leadership vision with determination, brilliant planning and courage to overcome all challenges.”
In 2020, Valley Children’s moved from seven different electronic medical record (EMR) systems to one integrated platform, Epic. This launch reflects the efforts of hundreds of people working over several years before going live with Epic. Due to the pandemic, the entire switchover took place virtually, a first for any healthcare organization in the country. Valley Children’s technology teams continue to build new programs within Epic and execute new processes within the platform to improve overall efficiency throughout the network.
“This national recognition solidifies that we’re moving in the right direction regarding digital health,” says Kevin Shimamoto, Valley Children’s vice president and chief information officer. “The past year and a half changed the way our information services are provided, with a necessary new emphasis on virtual technology, including work-from-home systems, telehealth services and other new tools. The pandemic changed the lens of how we work and how we best connect with not only each other, but with our patients and families.”
“Safe, effective patient care is at the center of everything we do,” adds Dr. Joel Brownell, Valley Children’s chief medical information officer. “Leveraging technology and all the tools we have in place allows our physicians, nurses and other care team members to keep our eye focused squarely on the kids in our care.”
This is the second time Valley Children’s has been recognized as a Most Wired organization. As in past years, CHIME will publish an industry trends report based on Digital Health Most Wired responses from U.S. participants. The full 2021 National Trends Report will be announced later this month during CHIME21 in San Diego.
For more information about the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired program, please go here.