The CARE4 Project is going live in…Fall 2021! That’s right, in response to the tremendous workload and commitment required by staff and credentialed staff across our four partner organizations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve shifted the GO LIVE date of our MEDITECH Expanse implementation to September 18, 2021.
While the project has been steadily moving forward, the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst global health crisis in recent history, is impacting our hospitals in significant and unprecedented ways. It has required us to quickly adapt to new protocols, develop new practices and create additional spaces to safely care for our patients.
“Last fall, when the project was extended to May 2021 as a result of the initial wave of COVID-19, we could not have anticipated the significant impact of this second wave of the pandemic.”
The prevalence of COVID-19 in our communities and hospitalizations has significantly increased, requiring an “all hands on deck” response by our hospitals. In addition to managing outbreaks at three of our four partner hospitals, our organizations have supported long-term care and retirement homes, accepted patients from overburdened GTA hospitals, operated COVID-19 assessment clinics, and now, the immunization roll out.
The next stage of the CARE4 project will require significant focus and engagement from all staff across four hospitals as we work through training and end-user testing. Extending the timeline will give staff more opportunity to learn the new technology and processes for a successful GO LIVE in September. The extended timeline will also ensure safety for our patients and community through additional system testing, enriched end-user training and simple project enhancements.
“The decision to extend the timeline was difficult, but it’s the right thing to do,” says Brewin. “This is the biggest investment our hospitals have made in recent memory and we need to get it right. We hope you are relieved by this delay, excited about the opportunity to catch your breath, recharge and fully embrace a September GO LIVE.”
