An EPIC Partnership: How collaboration between DCMC and HSHS makes the impossible possible for Door and Kewaunee county patients

Door County Medical Center and Hospital Sisters Health System have a partnership that is unique in the healthcare industry. This partnership has resulted in some incredible benefits for the residents of Door and Kewaunee counties including the recent launch of EPIC electronic health records (EHR) software at Door County Medical Center.

Once Upon a Time

The relationship between Door County Medical Center (DCMC) and Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) has existed for as long as just about anyone at Door County Medical Center can remember.

In fact, former DCMC CEO, Jerry Worrick, originally came to DCMC “on loan” from HSHS in 1987 as an interim administrator. Fortunately for DCMC, Jerry Worrick stayed for 31 years until his retirement in 2018.

Through Worrick’s connections with HSHS, and specifically St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Worrick was, most visibly, able to establish the St. Vincent Cancer Center at DCMC.

“Having that service in our community has prevented thousands of Door and Kewaunee County residents from having to travel to Green Bay for sometimes daily cancer treatments. It has meant a lot to our community,” shares Brian Stephens, CEO at DCMC.

The St. Vincent Cancer Center at DCMC is just one example of Worrick’s many accomplishments throughout his tenure and just one of the ways DCMC and HSHS have teamed up to provide world class care for Door and Kewaunee County residents.

HSHS and DCMC formally partnered in 2016 when HSHS became a minority owner of DCMC. Today HSHS is a 40 percent owner of Door County Medical Center which is 60 percent locally owned and controlled by DCMC’s non-profit Board of Directors. According to Stephens, “It has turned out to be a fantastic arrangement for both organizations, giving us a strong clinical partner in Green Bay for those services that we cannot provide here locally, but also allowing us to tap into administrative support when needed.”

The partnership allows the organizations to collaborate strategically, operationally and clinically to benefit residents in Door  and Kewaunee counties. This year marks 10 years of this official partnership between HSHS and DCMC.

An EPIC adventure

DCMC began considering a transition to Epic in 2019 when it became clear that Epic was becoming the leading global provider of EHR software.

The vast majority of Wisconsin hospitals have migrated over to Epic from other EHRs in the past couple of decades not only because Epic is a Wisconsin company, but also because they provide the best EHR software available.

Furthermore, because of DCMC’s clinical partnerships with St. Vincent and St. Mary’s hospitals, and many of the specialists at Prevea Medical Group, it made sense to be on the same instance as the HSHS providers.

Bob Erickson, CEO and President of HSHS Wisconsin shared his experience with Epic, “The Epic journey [for HSHS] really started in the Prevea Clinics. We have migrated Epic across all of our hospitals and care settings. By optimizing workflows, integrating advanced modules, supporting providers through change, and leveraging Epic to improve care coordination and patient engagement, we have elevated our ability to provide the best care for our patients and work efficiencies for our care teams.”

“We were resistant for a time because of the expense of Epic, but in the Summer of 2023 we finally decided that the investment was worth it,” Stephens says.

The project officially kicked off in December 2024 and the journey began.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. 

After exploring several different options and through countless conversations, it became clear that partnering with HSHS to lease their instance of Epic was not only the most affordable approach, but also the most effective and efficient.

HSHS has been a true partner, guide and help to DCMC as they undertake the largest Information Systems overhaul in the history of the organization.

Brian Stephens credits HSHS, “From the day that we signed the contract to work with HSHS on the Epic project, they have been incredibly accommodating to the needs of our local clinicians and patients.”

To illustrate, HSHS has dedicated talented Project Manager, Kathy Caelwaerts, to the project throughout the past year. Kathy has kept the project on track during the build process, testing, training, data migration and validation, and everything in between.

DCMC was able to leverage HSHS’s existing Epic environment as a foundation rather than starting from scratch. It allowed DCMC to move forward with confidence, knowing the system they were implementing was already proven, stable, and highly optimized.

HSHS understands that while DCMC is appreciative of having one consolidated record with HSHS, it is important for patients and local healthcare workers to retain their autonomy, and they’ve helped achieve that goal.

On February 7th, known internally as “go-live weekend”, and for the two weeks following, HSHS will provide an army of support at all DCMC locations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Over 70 professionals from HSHS will be onsite to support 800+ DCMC employees as they embark on this journey!

While general support for the system will be provided by the HSHS Help Desk, DCMC has been able to retain their talented team of Informaticists, who will continue to help users with training, support, and customization of the system to meet local needs long term.

According to Erickson, “Our priority, from day one, was to get all hands on deck to support a partner and assure success. This is a monumental transition for DCMC and we wanted it to go as smoothly and effectively as possible because we all have the same goal of excellence. We took the attitude that ‘this is family’ and we have to be at our best to deliver the best outcome possible in a way that reflects our shared values and kinship.”

The boon

The result is that DCMC patient notes, messages, records, and results will be stored in one comprehensive database with HSHS notes, messages, records, and results.

For example, a patient who might have a primary care physician at DCMC but require specialist care from Dr. Hunt, a Prevea ENT physician, all of those records for both primary care and specialist visits will be seamlessly located in the same place, which is a benefit to that patient, but also for his or her caregivers, and to the providers who will have all the relevant information at their fingertips.

“I think we all know that the world is changing quickly; new technologies are allowing us to do some things that we only could have dreamed about a few short years ago. By partnering with HSHS and Epic, we are tapping into a partnership that pushes us to the forefront of integrating technology that benefits patients and providers,” shares Stephens enthusiastically.

For instance, in the Epic environment, AI will help clinicians keep better notes in the exam room, help nurses prioritize messages that need a response more quickly, and allow caregivers to search a patient's medical record in ways that were never possible in the past.

According to Stephens, in addition to patients being able to schedule appointments online, the most noticeable difference will be the elimination of paper shuffling that currently takes place between DCMC and HSHS, or any other healthcare facility when a patient is being jointly cared for, and that volume is substantial.

According to Erickson, a shared Epic platform strengthens continuity of care, enhances safety, and lays the groundwork for future clinical and operational collaboration.

“Ultimately, it allows both organizations to grow together in ways that better serve patients across the region,” says Erickson.

Looking forward, together

Partnering with HSHS to implement Epic is the greatest example to date of being able to balance the needs of the community with the opportunity to implement world-class technology and fortify Door County Medical Center as a leader in rural healthcare.

“Working with HSHS on the implementation of Epic has been the latest phase in what I would characterize as a great experiment for healthcare. What you see in the industry most of the time is small, rural hospitals and clinics being bought or merging with larger healthcare systems. Our partnership with HSHS allows us to leverage the strengths of both of our organizations for the benefit of our patients, but it also allows us to retain the autonomy to make decisions that are in the best interest of our community rather than what might be in the best interest of a larger system,” illustrates Stephens.

Due to the success of this initiative, DCMC hopes to find other ways to collaborate with HSHS in the future with opportunities that retain local autonomy in decision-making but give DCMC access to solutions and services that would otherwise be very difficult for an independent rural medical center to obtain.

Erickson says, “Together, we will continue exploring opportunities for innovation, integration, and shared learning. With aligned technology and a strong collaborative relationship, DCMC and HSHS are well positioned to meet future challenges and evolving community needs.”

A strong partnership grounded in excellence and faith

DCMC is deeply appreciative of their partnership with HSHS. According to Stephens, “We have been blessed to work with some really amazing people at HSHS who clearly care about us and about our community, and they want to see this project be wildly successful. DCMC and HSHS are both committed to excellence, but it is an excellence that is grounded in our faith in God to provide for our organizations and to honor our commitment to those who need us the most.”

DCMC wants to especially thank Kathy Caelwaerts, Project Manager, who kept the project on track; Ryan Leach, Chief Applications Officer at HSHS, who was always at the ready to answer questions about resources and support; last but not least, Bob Erickson, HSHS Wisconsin Market President and CEO who Stephens describes as, “a genuine and straightforward leader, and a fantastic person to partner with.”

Stephens discloses, “There have been too many HSHS folks to list that have gone above and beyond while building the system, testing, and training. Just like it is the people closest to the bedside at DCMC who deserve all of the credit for our success, it is the people on the front-lines of this effort at HSHS who have really helped us all along the way.”

Erickson shares Stephens’ sentiment, “I am grateful for the trust and transparency that we share as partners - we know we are stronger together. This partnership reflects a shared belief that collaboration, not isolation, is key to advancing health care. Supporting DCMC’s Epic journey has been a meaningful example of how organizations can work together to accelerate value for patients and caregivers.”