Technology Grant Brings Resident Record-Keeping into the 21st Century

Broadway House for Continuing Care has received a grant from The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey for implementation of an Electronic Medical Records and Pharmaceutical Charting (EMR/PC) system. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable, underserved populations in greater Newark and the Jewish Community of MetroWest NJ, elevate the quality of community healthcare, reduce disparities in access, and promote the infusion of compassion and humanism into our healthcare system. Their generous funding of this project will enable Broadway House to use modern technology to improve resident care.

An Electronic Medical Records System will reduce costs, save staff time and increase efficiency. As New Jersey’s only specialized HIV/AIDS skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility this EMS/PC system will enable Broadway House to automate all aspects of the resident’s healthcare. It will replace many of the disparate clinical and financial networks with a single, unified information technology system.

“We believe the implementation of the electronic medical record and pharmaceutical charting system will change patient care as we know it today,” said Jim Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer of Broadway House for Continuing Care. “This technology will help us gain efficiencies in our workplace, as well as improve resident safety and the quality of care.”

Director of Nursing, Ms. Lois Beatty believes that once the nursing staff becomes comfortable and efficient with the use of the computerized system, documentation will be completed and up to date in fifty percent less time than the current manual system. “Time saved through electronic charting will be redirected to increase patient care time,” stated Ms. Beatty.

The entire patient care and documentation system will be simplified and completed with greater efficiency and productivity. Orders to nursing units, pharmacies and other appropriate facilities will be accomplished via e-mail. For the residents, this new system brings all their information together in one record, in one computer system in “real time.”

“With paper charts and different computer systems utilized throughout Broadway House as well as those used by individual doctors, patient information is typically gathered from many different sources,” said Patricia Alfano, Director of Quality Management. “With EMR/PC all of that information will now be at our fingertips. When critical decisions need to be made about a patient, our team will have access to more information, as well as receive instant alerts as their condition changes and new results are posted to the electronic record. EMR/PC will give our staff the tools to build a safer and more connected healthcare environment for our patients”.

The lives and health care experience of the residents of Broadway House improve through the continued generosity of the Health Care Foundation of New Jersey, funded by the Jewish Community.

Broadway House For Continuing Care - 298 Broadway Newark, New Jersey 07104 - (973) 268-9797