Located just outside of the Wisconsin Capital city of Madison sits Epic, the EHR vendor that has helped shape patient electronic data storage since its inception in 1979.
Since its founding, Verona, Wis.-based Epic — which employs more than 9,000 individuals — has made quite a mark on its community. Its massive campus sprawls 1,100 acres and hoards dozens of artifacts from local creators.
The EHR vendor has captured headlines during the first half of 2018 on a range of topics unrelated to healthcare.
Here are 13 stories Becker's Hospital Review covered so far this year about Epic that have nothing to do with the health industry:
News about Founder and CEO Judy Faulkner
1. Epic's Judy Faulkner makes Forbes' billionaires list
Forbes recently released its annual list of "The World's Billionaires" for 2018 and named Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of EHR giant Epic, among the ranks. On the list of 2,208 billionaires worth a collective $9.1 trillion, Ms. Faulkner placed 652.
2. Epic founder Judy Faulkner comes in 3rd on Forbes' richest women list
With a net worth of $3.5 billion, Epic Founder and CEO Judy Faulkner is Forbes' third-richest self-made woman in America. At 74, Ms. Faulkner still serves as CEO of the company, and in 2015, she signed the Giving Pledge, a vow to donate 99 percent of her fortune to philanthropic causes within her lifetime.
News about Epic's campus
3. Epic buys iconic Wisconsin restaurant's carousel, circus-like decor
Epic purchased the famous outdoor carousel and whimsical art from the historic Ella's Deli — a restaurant in Madison, Wis., that closed in January after 41 years. Epic will move the carousel, which dates back to 1927, and the 250 interior decor items in full to its campus. In its hay-day, the restaurant was decked-out in clowns and circus-themed memorabilia that included old toys that circled the building's interior.
4. Vandals cause thousands of dollars in damage to one of Epic's buildings
An empty building owned by Epic was broken into April 28, and vandals caused thousands of dollars in damages. Inside the building, paper products were burned and a fire extinguisher was discharged. A caretaker for the building called police after noticing door and fire alarms going off.
5. Down the halls of Epic's campus: Treehouses, waterfalls & more — 8 things to know
Epic has one of the largest workplaces of all time. The software giant's campus is so mystical that it resembles something like a city out of a fantasy novel. In fact, one of its rooms was inspired by the Harry Potter saga.
6. 5 things to know about Epic's sustainable campus
The EHR giant is taking serious steps to ensure its 25-building campus leaves as little an impact on its environment as possible. For its primary energy sources, Epic deploys one of North America's largest geothermal heating and cooling systems, 6,200 photovoltaic solar panels and six wind turbines.
News affecting Epic employees
7. An Epic day in court: Supreme Court rules in favor of Epic, upholds workplace arbitration contracts
In a 5-4 decision led by the conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, Epic came out victorious in a case involving individual employee arbitration. The case involved Jacob Lewis, a former technical writer at Epic, who alleged the EHR vendor violated federal and state law by neglecting to pay him and other technical writers overtime wages. However, Epic employees waived the right to participate in any class, collective or representative proceeding when they signed an employment agreement stating wages and working hours could only be discussed through individual arbitration. The Court's decision established that companies have a right to resolve labor and wage disputes individually and use arbitration clauses to bar employees from joining together in class action lawsuits against their employer.
8. Epic's other class-action lawsuit may be dismissed in wake of Supreme Court ruling
After the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in a case brought by Epic that ruled arbitration agreements can legally bar employees from pursuing class action lawsuits, a different class action lawsuit against Epic regarding overtime wage disputes could be in jeopardy. Quality assurance workers at Epic brought a seperate class-action lawsuit against the company in December 2016, claiming they were illegally denied overtime pay, but that case was put on hold while the Court argued the case involving Epic's technical writers.
9. Verona, Wis., local says it's time to unionize Epic
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis — in which the majority sided in favor of large corporations — some are now calling on Epic employees to unionize, journalist Alan Talaga wrote in an op-ed for the local newspaper, Isthmus.
10. 'Don't go public' and 'Don't do deals': Here are Epic's 13 guiding principles
An anonymous author of a blog titled "Life After Epic" with the web address FiredFromEpic.blogspot.com published a list of the 13 guiding principles Epic ingrains in its employees.
In January, United Airlines released plans to offer daily nonstop service, once a day, from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wis., to San Francisco International Airport starting June 7. Employees of Epic will likely take advantage of the flights.
News about Epic's website
12. The 24 recipes featured on Epic's website
Epic's website isn't just for news on EHRs. In a section titled "From Our Kitchen," which is promoted on the right-hand side of the software vendor's website, Epic features various recipes for soups, ribs and desserts.
13. Epic proposes support dogs to ease go-live stress in April Fools' Day prank
Epic restructured its home page April 1 to advertise an unconventional resource to promote staff well-being — IT support dogs. The April Fools' Day prank, which centered on easing stress on hospital staff during software go-lives, promoted a new program to train service dogs for a "dual role of at-the-elbow emotional support and simple problem ticket resolution."