Press Release

For Immediate Release
Merced Medical Center Opens Their Doors With No Delays

Merced, CA.May 3, 2010 – The $262 million Mercy Medical Center (MMCM) in Merced, Calif.is up an operational without a hitch.  The 266, 000 square-foot, 185 bed hospital and 19,000 square-foot central plant received all licensing credentials and approval from the California Department of Public Health with no recommendations– the C-DPH is responsible for reviewing the entire facility to ensure that all systems are working appropriately, that staff are trained to care for patients and procedures are implemented to ensure the best practices for safety are implemented.  After passing the licensing visit with flying colors, the hospital opened its doors to patients on May 2nd

MMCM owners Catholic Healthcare West, contracted the Transition Planning services of Healthcare Technical Services (HTS) to provide comprehensive Transition and Occupancy Services. This included the use of a Critical Task Log (CTL) which help manage and track all transition related activities and keep MMCM on schedule and ready for move day.  All license and move dates remained successfully unchanged for the past three years of the project as a result of teamwork and saved the hospital from additional costs.  

HTS provided a support system tailored to MMCM and oversight to ensure that critical tasks were completed on time.  HTS and hospital staff worked closely together to develop new department operational work plans, budget planning, patient aggregation and bed allocation, orientation and training and a licensing plan.  Support for these activities was provided by HTS’ own FreightTrain software which provided an Occupancy Planning Module to monitor and manage room status.  FreightTrain’s colorized floor plans, Visual Fragnets®, effectively helped avoid the logistics problems or issues that could arise when installing the hospital’s state-of-the-art data and telecommunications systems; an emergency services response system featuring high-tech radio communications technology covering multiple counties; and a security system controlled by RS2 technologies.  HTS’ workflow analysis helped managers develop staffing plans, equipment functionality (nurse call, Pyxis), policy and procedure coordination and other operational planning needs. 

 “We’re so excited to be here,” said David Dunham, President of Mercy Medical Center. “This is the dawning of a new day of healthcare in Merced.  We are happy to be officially open and ready for business.”  And with that, MMCM opened their doors and their hearts! During the first 5 hours of opening their doors, hospital staff embraced two births, one emergency surgery, a Rapid Response, and a Code Blue. 

 

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