The launch of the Cerner CareAware Capacity Management (CCM) system is on track at Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) and Victoria General Hospital (VGH), thanks to dedication and teamwork across a wide range of Island Health teams. CCM is a patient and equipment flow management system that replaces TeleTracking, and is used primarily by clinical and nursing staff, portering and housekeeping (Environmental Services or ES). With CCM comes greater transparency of patient flow, integration with other Cerner applications such as PowerChart, FirstNet and PM Office, and the ability to order equipment electronically.
The first few days after the June 24 launch were busy, as porters and housekeepers received iPhones equipped with the CCM software to receive assignments, and clinical and nursing staff familiarized themselves with the new system and screen views. Initial feedback from Environmental Services staff has been positive: “It’s been pretty good,” says Kim Decoteau, ES supervisor, “…most people enjoy using the new system.” Supervisors also appreciate the ability to see where people are, communicating with staff using the phone, and seeing how long it takes to complete an assignment.
Starting on the first day of go-live and continuing around the clock through the first weeks of the change, IHealth project and Clinical Informatics staff have been rounding the hospital sites, answering questions and helping operational, clinical and nursing colleagues set up the CCM system to monitor patient and equipment flow.
Laura Walker, Nursing Unit Assistant at Victoria General Hospital, found that spending time with the system helped her adapt to the change. “I got used to the CCM system quickly – partly because I spent 13 hours on the first day setting up all the nurses on my floor!”
Manpreet Khaira, Interim Executive Director, Victoria Acute Tertiary, is grateful to all the staff that have participated in this change. “We are so appreciative of the way that staff at RJH and VGH have risen to the challenge of making this change, even as they carry on with patient care under the continuing pressure and demand for acute care services.”
Take advantage of on-site support this week
Nursing/clinical staff are encouraged to complete their end-user training, working with their CNE and with the help of on-site project support staff. From July 11-15, on-site support will continue from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the Clinical Services Desk (CSD) taking calls after-hours.
Calls to Central Support for assistance with CCM are gradually decreasing. Rounders are looking for staff who still need support setting up and using the new system, whether they are on shift for the first time since the launch or they simply have not yet had the time in their workload to get familiar with the set-up and features of CCM.
“Staff on all fronts have really gone above and beyond to get this done, it’s very impressive,” said Chris Hawkins, Clinical Director, Acute Care, IHealth. “Any large change like this has wrinkles at first – for example, we are working on the integration with FirstNet and making sure all transports and transfers show up the way they are supposed to in the system. We are meeting frequently with operational and site leads to keep the updates flowing.”
Thank you to all nursing and clinical staff, porters and housekeeping/environmental services staff, patient registration and Coordinators of Site Operations (CSOs) who are helping to make this change a success.
See photos in the “CCM Go-Live Gallery” on the IHealth website.
