Healthland Supports Rural Hospitals with New Solutions and Services, Award Program and Advocacy Efforts at Connect 12

Rural hospitals talk key industry issues such as ICD-10 and Meaningful Use at Healthland client event

<0> HealthlandCheryl Turk-Peterson, 612-927-3363 </0>

Healthland, America's market leader of healthcare information technology solutions for rural hospitals, today honored rural hospitals at its annual client event, Connect 12 in Orlando, Fla. During the event, Healthland joined forces with the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to arm rural providers with information and resources to help them combat upcoming challenges and changes in the healthcare market such as ICD-10 and Meaningful Use regulations. Healthland also launched Centriq Clinic, an ambulatory solution that provides one patient chart on one common database accessible across the entire healthcare facility.

At Connect 12, ONC director, Mat Kendall, discussed the importance of Meaningful Use for rural communities across the United States. He also talked about the unique challenges rural hospitals face to meet Meaningful Use guidelines, including their limited workforce and constrained financial resources. To help, ONC is providing up to $30 million for Regional Extension Centers (REC) to target critical access and small, rural hospitals. These supplemental grant funds will support these hospitals – totaling 1,501, which is 30 percent of all hospitals nationwide – in their efforts to achieve Meaningful Use. To date, more than 1,200 critical access and small, rural hospitals across the nation have enrolled with a REC on their path to attestation.

“At Connect 12, we bring together the best and brightest in rural healthcare,” said Tracey Schroeder, Healthland Senior Vice President of Marketing. “At this year’s event, we covered a variety of issues in healthcare. From Meaningful Use to ICD-10 regulations, the environment for rural providers is more challenging now than ever before. That’s why these hospitals need more than HIT vendors, they need partners. At Healthland, our relationship with our clients is truly a partnership and we are currently working with rural clinicians, industry experts and government leaders to provide the tools they need to thrive. And that’s what Connect 12 is all about.”

This week, Healthland supported the launch of Centriq Clinic with product demonstrations and educational courses. Healthland beta clients also shared their experiences with the new ambulatory solution. Faulkton County Memorial Hospital in South Dakota discussed the results they are seeing with Centriq Clinic’s ease of use and ability to access patient charts across all points of care – emergency department, hospital and clinic.

“We worked closely with Healthland as they developed Centriq Clinic and as a result, this solution is designed for the rural healthcare provider with the workflows and specific tools we need to be successful,” said Karla Hall, Faulkton Clinical Manager. “Faulkton Area Medical Center now has quick and easy access to patient data and preventative care tools that allow us to provide more proactive care in our community.”

During the event, Healthland also announced the winner and finalists of its client recognition award program: The annual award recognizes rural community and critical access hospitals that make a significant contribution toward improving the health and quality of life in their community. This year’s winner, selected by their peers, is James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital in Harrodsburg, Ky. Finalists include Desert View Hospital in Pahrump, Nev. and Sitka Community Hospital in Sitka, Alaska.

Connect 12 runs through October 25. Next year’s event will be held in Minneapolis, Minn.

Healthland is America’s largest provider of fully integrated solutions to rural community and critical access hospitals, serving more than 500 clients across the country. Software and services from Healthland, including its electronic health record (EHR) solution, empower community hospitals to deliver the best possible healthcare by providing a central repository of patient information in all care settings, be it a hospital, clinic or extended care facility.

With more than 30 years of experience in the rural healthcare market, Healthland solutions are uniquely suited to the size and needs of rural hospitals, enabling them to focus on what they do best – care for family, friends and neighbors. The organization currently has offices in its founding city of Glenwood, Minn., population 2,600, as well as its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. More information is available at: .