Update on Epic Team Hiring

We have been very excited to see the enthusiasm and support for the Epic Project from across WellStar. We had a tremendous response to our call for internal candidates to be on the Epic Team.

Approximately 675 internal candidates have applied and taken the assessment. We believe we will meet our target of having 80 percent of the positions filled internally. In addition, we have received more than 1,000 external applications.

The offer process for members of the Epic Team will begin on Wednesday, May 16 and we will notify all applicants no later than Friday, June 1. For candidates not selected, there will be future opportunities to be part of the project as part of your current position. We also are finalizing our Epic leadership team and will be announcing those individuals soon.

A home has been secured for our Epic Team at 2700 Cumberland Parkway in the Cobb Galleria area. The entire third floor and part of the second floor will be used to house the Epic team during project implementation. The space includes offices, conference rooms and training facilities. The team will move-in beginning in early June. Thank you for your support of this important project.

WellStar to Move to EpicCare Information System

Over the last decade, our use of technology to enhance the care and treatment of patients has increased enormously. WellStar leadership understands that, as one of the Top Five Integrated Health Systems in the country, one clinical information system for physicians, hospitals and our other points of care is critical to our patients and our success. World-class healthcare requires world-class information technology solutions.

Since McKesson’s mid-December announcement of their “Better Health 2020” initiative, WellStar senior leadership with the assistance of external experts has been carefully studying our strategic clinical information technology needs and options for the future. Last week, the WellStar Board of Trustees approved and endorsed senior leadership’s recommendation to implement the EpicCare integrated healthcare software across our System.

Epic, based out of Wisconsin, is the industry leader in the development of a single software solution for integrated healthcare systems. The EpicCare system allows for a single patient record across the care continuum – from the physician office to the hospital and even to the patient's home.

We will begin implementation work without delay and would target to be using EpicCare software
across our System (including our hospitals and the WellStar Medical Group) by the end of 2013. This implementation will require a tremendous investment in capital resources as well as time and commitment from our entire WellStar team.

The EpicCare implementation will provide new career opportunities for our team members. We will need approximately 150 individuals to fill positions on our new project team. These positions will be filled with top talent from clinical and other areas across the System. As we are pursuing a very aggressive time line, we plan to have our team ready for EpicCare training and certification beginning in June 2012. If you are interested in joining this project team. Please visit the eSource RightPath web site for updates. In the future, there will be additional opportunities for physician involvement in this project through advisory groups that will help determine how the applicaiton looks and work flow processes.

We hope you will share our excitement about this extraordinary step in patient care. This implementation will truly transform our culture, unite us as a System and move us further down the RightPath to improving patient care through technology.