Newark, N.J-based University Hospital and Epic developed an EHR system for the state's 250-bed field hospital at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, according to an April 14 news release.
To help alleviate the need for hospital beds in New Jersey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked with the state department last month to build the Secaucus Federal Medical Station, which will operate as a space for low-acuity patients as well as patients with milder cases of COVID-19. University Hospital clinicians will staff the facility.
For IT operations, Epic donated software and services and worked with University Hospital to build an electronic system to register, admit and discharge patients in three days.
University Hospital and Epic deployed the system within three days; on day one, the organizations met virtually while Epic presented the plan for admitting patients and assigning hospital beds. The following day Epic and University Hospital teams started setting up the electronic system and by the third day the partners met virtually for a final walk through of the patient flow process.
The New Jersey Department of Health requested University Hospital serve as the regional coordination for the northern part of the state, so the hospital will coordinate the transfer of patients between brick-and-mortar hospitals and the field station.
Epic also worked with the New York Department of Health and NYC Health + Hospitals to set up EHR software at the Javits Center temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients in New York City as well as the Chicago Department of Public Health and Rush University Medical Center to convert McCormick Place Convention Center into a 3,000-bed alternate care facility.