New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health is moving into the largest phase of its multiyear Epic EHR implementation after completing its first major go-live in late 2025, according to Kristin Myers, the health system’s chief digital officer.
The health system is consolidating more than 30 core electronic health records across its 28 hospitals and hundreds of ambulatory sites — a rollout that extends beyond core EHRs to include more than 15 specialty systems and roughly 200 additional applications that will be replaced by Epic over the next few years.
“It’s a strategic, multiyear endeavor, and we’ve deliberately adopted a phased, region-based rollout,” Ms. Myers told Becker’s. “Northwell is now 28 hospitals and hundreds of ambulatory sites, so taking a ‘big bang’ approach would have been disruptive.”
Northwell’s first major Epic go-live took place Nov. 1, 2025, in the health system’s Western Region. The rollout included hospitals and ambulatory sites in Westchester, Manhattan and Staten Island, as well as some facilities in eastern Long Island.
“That was a massive undertaking — about 39,000 users across eight hospitals,” Ms. Myers said. “We also focused on patient experience. We integrated Epic with Salesforce to drive what I’d call a ‘patient 360’ view, and we launched the MyNorthwell application and portal.”
Northwell is now preparing for its second wave of implementation, which will cover the Central Region in Long Island and is scheduled to go live May 30. Ms. Myers said the upcoming phase will be the largest Epic implementation at Northwell and one of Epic’s largest.
“Wave 2 will include about 42,000 users across nine hospitals and will introduce new Epic functionality at Northwell, including transplant and dialysis capabilities,” she said. “Northwell is tentatively planning a third wave later this year, though the timing will depend on the outcomes of Wave 2.”
The Epic install at Northwell was previously estimated as a roughly $1.2 billion investment. Ms. Myers said the organization has made additional investments in infrastructure, training and support after readiness work identified workflow needs tied to stabilization and patient safety but has maintained disciplined financial management for the project.
“We have strong governance, monthly forecasting, executive oversight and formal change control,” she said. “We also ensure all investments are tied to quality and safety outcomes, and we look at cost optimization as part of that — including opportunities like vendor negotiations that can offset some of these costs. We view Epic as a foundational long-term investment.”
Northwell has also prioritized internal staffing as part of the implementation. Ms. Myers said the health system has trained and certified more than 200 existing team members in Epic while selectively supplementing internal teams with consultants and Epic-certified specialists.
“I’m tremendously proud of our Northwell Epic team,” she said. “It’s important for us to build this capability internally because ultimately, when consultants leave and Epic’s team leaves, it’s up to us to optimize and sustain the program.”
Ms. Myers said Northwell’s priorities for the Epic rollout extend beyond standardization and include improving patient access, clinician experience and clinical continuity across the health system. She said having one patient portal will give the organization the ability to provide streamlined digital access to health information, convenient scheduling and direct communication with staff. Consolidating systems, she added, will also help reduce administrative burden and support workforce efficiency.
As Northwell continues additional waves of implementation, Ms. Myers said the success of the rollout so far has depended on cross-functional collaboration across the organization.
“Overall, I can’t say enough about the Northwell teams — not just the Northwell technology teams but the operational teams, the clinical teams and the revenue cycle teams,” she said. “Everyone’s just worked together in an amazing way, so it’s been a fantastic experience.”
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