Adventist Health System (AHS), which includes Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center with locations in Sebring and Lake Placid and Florida Hospital Wauchula, has been named a 2016 Most Wired health system, based on the results of HealthCare’s Most Wired survey. This year marks the fourth year in succession that AHS has received the honor.
The survey was conducted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2016. Respondents completed 680 surveys, representing 2,146 hospitals or more than 34 percent of all hospitals nationwide.
“Being part of a Most Wired health system is a tremendous honor,” said Florida Hospital Heartland President and CEO Bruce Bergherm. “Our organization has committed the IT resources and support needed to ensure that employees are able to carry out our mission of “Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ.”
The survey shows that Most Wired hospitals are:
• using telehealth to improve care;
• using technology to build patient engagement with the individual’s lifestyle in mind, which includes electronic access to their care team;
• and utilizing population health management tools and partnering with other health care providers to share critical clinical information used in analyzing interventions aimed at specific patient groups, such as those with diabetes.
“Hospitals are breaking-out of their traditional four walls and providing care where and when patients need it,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA. “These Most Wired hospitals exemplify this transformation by harnessing technology, engaging patients and offering services remotely. And, removing policy and other barriers to telehealth will allow even faster adoption of these amazing technologies.”
Published annually by Health & Hospitals Networks (H&HN), the survey examines how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management, quality and safety and clinical integration. More information about HealthCare’s Most Wired survey can be found at http://www.hhnmag.com/topics/261-most-wired.
About Florida Hospital
Florida Hospital Heartland Division is a not-for-profit, 222-bed health care system composed of three hospitals, including Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Sebring and Lake Placid, and Florida Hospital Wauchula, with a staff of more than 1,650 employees and 225 board-certified physicians caring for the Highlands and Hardee County communities. A member of Adventist Health System, Florida Hospital is a leading health network encompassing 23 hospitals throughout the state. For more information, visit www.FHHeartland.org.