Rockledge, Fla.-based Health First plans to spend more than $160 million over the next two years to transition to an Epic EHR system.
Implementation of the Epic system will take place over the next 24 months and is expected to be fully operational by January 2026. The project, dubbed "Mission Unity," will involve more than 140 project team members who will devote an estimated 75,000 hours over the next two years.
"This will enhance our ability to share data, streamline experience, and provide national best-practice decision support tools. All of these will provide our patients and plan members with quicker access to information they need to manage their health - and make the work of our clinicians and associates more efficient," Cheyana Fischer, chief clinical officer and chief nursing officer, said in an April 18 news release.
Health First, a four-hospital system, reported a $64.4 million operating loss in fiscal year 2023, compared to a $74.7 million loss the previous year. Revenue increased 11.1% year over year to $2.15 billion while expenses rose 8.5% to $2.28 billion.
Health First is partly owned by Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth, which acquired a noncontrolling stake in the system as part of a $350 million deal in January 2020.