Share and share alike – we are stronger together

Regardless of the healthcare organization, patients are always the focus of the services and care that is provided. That’s what makes the healthcare industry special. Teamwork is necessary from organization to organization. You see it on the frontline every day. Hospitals often transfer patients out for a higher level of care or to rehabilitation providers. These transitions must be seamless for the benefit of the patient. That teamwork between different organizations is obvious, but what is not obvious is the teamwork I experienced between my organization, Ozarks Healthcare, and another healthcare organization more than 400 miles away. While patient care remained to be the priority, this story lives behind the scenes.   

In the spring of 2023, Share Medical Center (Share), a critical access hospital and MEDITECH partner in Alva, Oklahoma, was in the final stages of preparing to go live as a MEDITECH MaaS site. It was at this point that Share and Ozarks Healthcare (OZH), in West Plains, Missouri, became acquainted. 

As Share was moving into the final build and testing phase, they were faced with losing their IT Director and MEDITECH Implementation Specialist. The Share CEO, Kandice Allen, reached out to OZH’s CEO, Thomas Keller, a longtime family friend, to see if there was any guidance we could offer. This was the beginning of what is now a great partnership and friendship between two MEDITECH organizations.

Read the full blog on the MUSE site.

Hear from another leader at Ozarks Healthcare: Priscilla Frase, MD, CMIO, recipient of the 2024 HIMSS Changemaker Senior Executive Award, who recently spoke with This Week Health on enhancing clinician satisfaction.