Augusta Health Assistant CIO, Leigh Williams, sat down with Healthcare IT Today Founder and Chief Editor John Lynn at MEDITECH LIVE to discuss how her organization earned two prestigious industry awards for advancing health equity in rural Virginia. She shares several strategies, starting with community outreach, expanding to 14 different locations, and implementing the technology to support those initiatives;
“One of the best things that we did, which really doesn’t take much money, is simply to collaborate, and talk, and engage, and listen to your communities,” said Williams. “We figured out how to combine what we had to offer with their needs, and a lot of that is meeting people where they are.”
Williams discusses how technology plays a role in their efforts to reach their community members.
“What we are trying to do now is lead not only with data that helps us to have good facts to drive good decision making, but also to be empathetic and to listen, and then combine those two things so that you get a service that not only provides needed services but also in a way that connects and resonates with the communities”
Williams goes on to discuss why her organization selected Expanse as its go-forward platform:
“We wanted to select a system that would be the best value for August Health,” said Williams. “Value is more about what do we need to be really successful?” she explained. “The best value for Augusta Health, that would give us the tools that we need to do what we are doing today, but also enable our digital transformation into the future, while maintaining our financial stability, and our commitment to the community,” she said. “And, providing our providers with tools that will be effective, and modern, and nimble for them. Expanse was the obvious right choice.”
Listen to the full Healthcare IT Today podcast: CIO Podcast – Episode 83: Health Equity with Leigh Williams.
To access more great podcasts from MEDITECH Leadership and MEDITECH customers, visit meditech.com/podcasts.
