Cerner announced this past week that it has inked deals with new hospital customers in Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico and South Dakota to upgrade to its CommunityWorks electronic health record model.

WHY IT MATTERS
CommunityWorks, a cloud-based version of Cerner's Millennium EHR, tailored for the clinical, financial and operational needs of small and midsize critical access hospitals.

Huron Regional Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Huron, South Dakota, will deploy CommunityWorks across multiple facilities, including the main hospital, a women's health clinic and a physicians' clinic. HRMC serves a population of more than 37,000 across seven counties in eastern-central South Dakota.

Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services, a 69-bed community hospital based in McKinley County, New Mexico, which includes parts of the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Pueblo. In addition to CommunityWorks, RMCH will also use Cerner's CareAware Nursing Mobility tool to boost collaboration among clinicians. 

Lutcher, Louisiana-based James Parish Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital that was seeking a more comprehensive suite of tools to help deliver more coordinated care for patients across the rural parish, said Cerner.

And Nebraska's 10-bed Syracuse Area Health comprises a critical access hospital and two rural health clinics, as well as a just acquired orthopedic practice. It will deploy Cerner throughout the hospital, which opened in 2018.

THE LARGER TREND

Cerner points out that 20% of Americans are served by small and rural hospitals, which have their own unique needs – especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

The company has been focused on this segment of the U.S. hospital base in recent months.

Early during the pandemic, for instance, Macon (Tennessee) Community Hospital earned the distinction as Cerner's first-ever virtual go-live in March, rolling out CommunityWorks with online assistance to help staff avoid exposure to COVID-19.

In June, Cerner named six other new CommunityWorks customers.

This past month, Cerner said it would offer a new video-based care platform to CommunityWorks clients at no cost through the end of 2021.

ON THE RECORD

"The manner in which we engage and support clients and their patients has shifted amid COVID-19," said Mitchell Clark, president, Cerner CommunityWorks, in a statement. "Some traditional doctor’s office and hospital visits have turned to virtual or physically distant in-person support. Throughout the challenges in healthcare in 2020, Cerner associates have remained fiercely dedicated to furthering our client’s success.

"Now more than ever hospitals need interoperable technology to help provide seamless care to patients," he added. "CommunityWorks offers the functionality hospitals need, in a package that's cost effective, secure and cloud-based for efficient delivery and updating."

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.