Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical System has saved $3.8 million in labor costs with a new-nurse readiness assessment tool developed by two nurses at the 11-hospital system.
The technology platform, Orientation Assessment Reporting System (OARS), has helped the system reduce labor costs by streamlining nurse onboarding, according to an Oct. 28 news release from UMMS.
The tool goes beyond time-based measurements to also review readiness assessments from new nurses and their preceptors, plus progress reporting. This approach “helps move new hire nurses to clinical readiness faster and more effectively,” the release said.
“OARS transforms assessment data into meaningful analytics across nurse orientees, competency domains, preceptors, units, cohorts and organizations,” UMMS said. “Over time, leaders can identify trends, compare outcomes, understand what’s driving success and uncover opportunities for improvement.”
Susie Williams, MSN, RN, formerly a senior clinical nurse II in the medical ICU and now manager of clinical nurse development at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and Danielle Wray, BSN, RN, formerly director of clinical practice and education at the medical center and now OARS customer success manager at iHarbor, developed the technology. iHarbor is the health system’s innovation and incubation center for digital health and AI products.
“When I was in orientation, I was moved around to multiple nurse preceptors. I received various forms of feedback about how I was progressing but there were no objective data or clear criteria that was visible to me as the new hire to say, ‘These things must be true for you to be ready for independent practice,'” Ms. Williams said in the release. “And it became apparent that a more objective and data-driven process was needed.”
While a “practice-ready” nurse graduate may be a myth in healthcare, health systems such as Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health, Pecos, Texas-based Reeves Regional Health and Joplin, Mo.-based Freeman Health System have invested in bolstering new nurse competency. Advocate partnered with the nation’s largest nursing school to merge the final 12 weeks of nursing school with a nurse residency program, and Reeves and Freeman cross-train nurses across similar services.
OARS is now the second product UMMS has turned into a commercial offering through iHarbor, after it spun off supply chain platform Gallion Health as a standalone company in July 2025 — part of a broader move by health systems to productize their internal innovations and market them to peers.
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