SUBMITTED By CHEROKEE INDIAN HOSPITAL
Dr. Evette Roubideaux, the Director of the Indian Health Service, recently recognized Cherokee Indian Hospital as a valued partner to the Indian Health Service for, not only providing outstanding clinical care but also by serving as a test site for the implementation of new technology. The Information Technology and Medical Records staff routinely helps test new software applications to ensure that they are safe for release nationally.
Cherokee Indian Hospital was the first and, to date, the only site in the entire Indian Health System to receive Medicare incentive payments for meeting the year one meaningful use requirements. This is a significant achievement and one attracting national attention.
The meaningful use criteria was published in the Federal Register in December of 2009 and by the following May, the staff at Cherokee Indian Hospital had already assembled a cross-functional team of high performing staff, and had completed a gap analysis and a detailed project plan. Fourteen months later, the team completed the project, meeting all of the year one meaningful use requirements by July 1, two days before the deadline.
Dr. Roubideaux was impressed to hear how Tony Taylor and Jim Eller worked around the clock with developers at OIT, installing new patches and trouble shooting glitches, ensuring CIH had access to the most up to date software and operating platforms. She also enjoyed hearing how Sara Wachacha, Jill Sain, Jonathan Dando, Terri Gibson and other department leaders tested and trained employees on the use of new applications and worked through volumes of administrative paperwork to meet the July 3 deadline.
Dr. Roubideaux personally commended Cherokee Indian Hospital and the members of the meaningful use team for this outstanding achievement and thanked the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority for helping improve the quality and safety of health care services provided to American Indians and Alaska Natives across the country.
