Washington County Hospital and Clinics (WCHC) recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for approximately $753,000. All the funds will go towards implementing a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) keeping system from Epic Systems, an American healthcare software company based out of Wisconsin.

John Woodward, the Major Gifts Development Officer for WCHC, says that this grant was not only a significant win for the hospital but for the Washington community as well and claimed that these advancements would help enhance the care they can provide to residents in Southeast Iowa. Greta Clemmons, the Director of Marketing for WCHC, talked with KCII about why the hospital decided to go with Epic Systems.

“It is the most used system in healthcare; I want to say that at least 70% of all hospitals use it, and that number is increasing by the year. So, because this system is the most commonly used across the United States, making it easier for us to use, access, and transfer records.”

The process is slated to take a year, with the project set to begin in November of this year and be completed in November of 2023. For more information about the new EHR systems that will be installed, contact Washington County Hospitals and Clinics.