When Epic was building its new campus in Verona, Wis., it learned its underground parking lots were too short to fit local fire trucks. So the EHR vendor bought its own.
"We became the proud owners of a cute red fire engine, and on it we printed, 'To the Verona Fire Department from your friendly local software company, Epic," co-founder and CEO Judy Faulkner wrote in a January blog post.
It's yet another example of how Epic, the nation's largest EHR vendor by hospital market share, and its rapidly expanding headquarters are shaping the town — and state — around it.
"When the fire truck arrived, we decided that we would drive it ourselves to the fire department, with lights flashing and alarms blaring," Ms. Faulkner wrote.
She even turned her dog McKinley, a white Samoyed, into a Dalmatian by taping black pieces of construction paper on him.
"McKinley jumped out and immediately shook himself — the spots flew off and he went back to being a Samoyed," she wrote. "The fire department folks had a small party with snacks awaiting us, and they really liked their new fire truck."