July 6, 2017
NORTON, Kan. – Norton County Hospital and Clinics will soon have a new intranet to support staff by improving internal communication, making important documents more accessible and streamlining internal processes. The new intranet is being developed with HospitalPortal.net, a software company that specializes in health care intranets and policy management systems for all types of health care organizations such as small and rural hospitals, large health networks, clinics and long-term care facilities.
The opportunity to work with HospitalPortal.net was made possible by recent grant funding awarded to Norton County Hospital. A total of $23,224 in funding for this project was provided by the Sunflower Foundation: Health Care for Kansans, a Topeka-based philanthropic organization with the mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of Kansans.
“We appreciate the financial support from the Sunflower Foundation, as this funding has helped make a long-term goal a reality,” said Gina Frack, Norton County Hospital’s interim CEO. “As with any organization, we constantly want to improve our communications and processes. This new system will allow us to have all our forms, policies and other documentation in one place that is easy to search and user-friendly. Our hospital’s many departments will be able to connect on a single platform so we can work together more effectively and efficiently.”
Frack added that a new intranet will help improve patient care as well: “When we’re able to communicate and connect with one another better as staff members, we are able to find appropriate information quickly for patient care and will be able to dedicate more time and attention to patients’ needs.”
In addition to Frack, another leader in bringing a new intranet to Norton County Hospital was the hospital’s employee education director, Anita Lyon. Lyon hopes the intranet will allow for an internal gathering place, where employees can also share information related to local events and volunteer opportunities, as examples, on a platform that is interactive and inviting.
“Technology is such a huge part of health care and our world today, so it is exciting to think that we will soon have a tool available to keep our facility up to date with our policies and compliance requirements, electronic scheduling and workflows for all kinds of requests,” Lyon said. “With this new intranet and its capabilities, hopefully we can do away with some of the paper processes of the past.”
The Norton County Hospital wishes to extend its sincere gratitude to the Sunflower Foundation for financially supporting this project. Plans are in place to implement the new intranet by fall 2017.
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