By Gene Peltola
President & CEO, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation
Records And Verification Electronic Network (R.A.V.E.N.)
Letter to the Editor
In the upcoming months, you will notice more communications from YKHC regarding our journey to bring a new YKHC Electronic Health Record (EHR) system to all of our facilities — village clinics, sub-regional clinics and our Bethel hospital. The name of our new EHR system is RAVEN, which stands for Records And Verification Electronic Network. The EHR demonstrates YKHC’s commitment to enhance the quality of health services that we provide; it will improve patient safety, provide real-time access to health information, and keep our medical records secure and confidential. Additionally, we are complying with federal law which requires us to transfer our record keeping from paper forms into electronic forms.
At present, a team of over 100 dedicated YKHC staff are working with our EHR vendor to develop the system. We are also working to train and educate our staff about RAVEN. Over 900 of our staff will be trained during November-January, a challenging feat for any corporation. We will be conducting extensive training to learn the RAVEN. We plan to “Go Live” with, or turn on, the RAVEN on Jan. 28.
I strongly encourage you to provide your Health Aides with more support and patience than ever, as we implement the new system and make changes for the better. Health aides are our most valuable resource, and we couldn’t embark on this journey without them!
Please stay tuned by reading future articles or advertisements about RAVEN to inform yourself about the benefits of the new system. I want to let you know about this transition, well in advance, as there will be challenges that may initially result in longer patient wait times. Please bear with us as we learn and “Go Live” with RAVEN on Jan. 28. Again, thank you for your patience as we continue our journey towards our mission, in Working Together to Achieve Excellent Health.
Sincerely,
— Gene Peltola, President/CEO, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation