Bluewater Health has a new hospital information system.
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The $40-million upgrade to the hospital corporation’s system for storing and sharing patient data went live at 3 am Sunday, during a relative lull in daily hospital activity, said president and CEO Paula Reaume-Zimmer.
“Being in the command center with all of our partners … and doing a 10-second countdown, it almost gives me goosebumps saying that,” she said about the go-live moment.
“But it was such an immense feeling of accomplishment and pride, relief; it was indescribable really.”
The process to switch from Bluewater Health’s decades-old Meditech system started in March, after the hospital’s board opted for the upgrade, in the wake of a cyberattack last October.
Expect some short-lived emergency department and operating room delays as staff adjust to the new system, Reaume-Zimmer said, noting the system already is used by other hospitals in the Erie-St. Clair region which includes Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent.
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Using the same system should help improve communications between hospitals, and reduce repeat testing, officials said in a news release.
“There’s a sense of confidence that we are now in a modernized health information system and that our patient care is one that we can share with any of our regional partners,” Reaume-Zimmer said about the system that’s also expected to improve cybersecurity at Bluewater Health.
“So the quality of care is just going up another step,” Reaume-Zimmer said.
Bluewater Health has been eyeing the health information system update, to Oracle Cerner, since at least 2013.
The switch, referred to as e-VOLVE Phase 4 — earlier phases included other Erie-St. Clair hospitals switching — included staff training and visiting other area hospitals to learn about the system.
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“Just immense pride in the folks who have worked so hard,” Reaume-Zimmer said, adding “their dedication clearly was demonstrated when we went live.”
People were ready, she said.
“Probably the most common comment I heard an hour before go-live is ‘let’s go,’” she said, also praising Bluewater Health’s board for its support.
“It’s been quite a journey,” she said.
“It’s been a topic of conversation for years at our board meetings.”
Bluewater Health was hardest hit by an $8-million ransomware attack that targeted Erie-St. Clair hospitals in October 2023.
Windsor Regional Hospital, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Chatham-Kent Alliance, Bluewater Health, and their shared service provider, Transform Shared Service Organization, all fell victim to the October cyberattack.
There were 5.6 million records stolen from Bluewater Health dating back to 1992, affecting about 270,000 people.
Bluewater Health was the only hospital group targeted that was not using Oracle Cerner for its hospital information system at the time.
Bluewater Health’s switch was made a priority because of the cyberattack, a hospital official has said.
-with files from Trevor Wilhelm
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