Ballad Health is an integrated community health improvement organization serving 29 counties of the Appalachian Highlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina and Southeast Kentucky. 20 hospitals, post-acute care and behavioral health services, and a large multi-specialty group physician practice work closely with an independent medical community and community stakeholders to improve the health and well-being of close to one million people.
"JTS Health Partners completed more in their first six weeks with us than the other consulting firm did in six months.
JTS’ business model provides flexibility for organizations like Ballad to have a long-term relationship with consultants."
Kyle Smith
Senior Director, Applications
Challenge
Ballad Health (Ballad) launched an ambitious, enterprise‑wide Epic Phase II initiative designed to bring 4 new Epic modules live across 26 facilities. This complex expansion required highly specialized technical, interface, integration and business intelligence expertise. Ballad’s internal teams were already operating at capacity, and diverting their resources risked disrupting ongoing clinical and operational workflows.
The organization required an experienced partner capable of delivering comprehensive Epic, Cloverleaf and business intelligence support; driving sustainable system and process improvements; and ensuring the large‑scale rollout was completed on time, with minimal operational disruption.
Solution
JTS Health Partners (JTS) partnered closely with Ballad’s Information Systems (IS) leadership, Epic project managers, clinical and application teams, vendor resources and state agencies to deliver comprehensive Health Information Technology (HIT) services and support. This included leading key workstreams for the Epic Phase II implementation, as well as providing continued operational enhancements for business intelligence, reporting and interface development.
JTS provided Epic‑certified consultants, Cloverleaf and Epic interface architects and engineers, and seasoned HIT professionals specializing in system build, integration and reporting. Working collaboratively across technical, clinical and operational teams, JTS delivered:
- Executive implementation leadership and guidance
- Comprehensive subject‑matter expertise in interface design and performance, BI/reporting capabilities and system reliability
- Architectural optimization and process redesign to reduce burden and improve long-term system sustainability
- Seamless coordination with 3 state counterparts for immunization and lab reporting workflows
Through this integrated approach, JTS enabled Ballad to achieve an on‑time, “quiet” go‑live while simultaneously strengthening the foundation for long‑term HIT success.
The Accomplishments
Together, JTS and Ballad achieved significant operational, technical and performance outcomes, including:
Epic Implementation Success
- Delivered an on‑time, “quiet” go‑live for all Epic Phase II implementation of Dorothy Comfort (DoCo), Willow Ambulatory (WAMB), Long-Term Care (LTC) and Rehabilitation (Rehab)
- Supported both application build and system modifications for Epic Optime, Anesthesia and Ambulatory
Interface & Integration Advancements
- Achieved a radical reduction in interface errors through new process and procedure improvements, gaining full buy‑in from IS management and analyst teams
- Completed 2 Cloverleaf engine migrations, including architectural optimization and migration away from an existing custom in‑house interface engine
- Enabled state immunization interfaces across 3 states and significantly enhanced electronic lab reporting capabilities
- Upgraded GoAnywhere software and supporting architecture for secure file transfer operations
- Supported sustainable system and process design, including best‑practice change management processes that improved efficiency and long‑term system optimization
Business Intelligence & Reporting Enhancements
- Leveraging SlicerDicer and Epic report builders, JTS migrated and implemented extensive custom reporting for Dorothy Comfort, Willow Ambulatory, Long-Term Care and Rehab