The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and its associated Medical Group recently implemented services and solutions from Avantas, a provider of strategic labor management technology, services and strategies for the healthcare industry. Specifically, Penn State Hershey is now relying on Avantas' consulting services and its Smart Square proprietary labor management software, which enables an automated, paperless labor management system across the entire center.
The implementation of this software requires the installation of Smart Square modules, which offer a transparent, enterprise-class view of staffing, scheduling and productivity. Furthermore, Penn State has also adopted Avantas' HELM (Healthcare Enterprise Labor Management) methodology, a set of strategies that combines workforce planning, demand forecasting and operational best practices with a complete set of scheduling and staffing tools.
“When we chose Avantas as a partner, our objective was to create increased efficiencies and cost savings across our entire enterprise,” said Sherry Kwater, chief nursing officer at Penn State Hershey, in a statement. “Before using this automated labor management technology we didn’t have an effective way to post and fill staffing needs. Smart Square allows us to have a paperless, precise, and timely staff needs posting, creating enterprise transparency and consistency, allowing us to provide cost-effective quality care to our patients.”
Other Avantas offerings being put into place by Penn State Hershey include the company's business intelligence tools and Smart Square dashboards at over 70 practice sites. This will provide in-depth analysis of the entire health system's labor workforce and operational practices, including the identification of utilization trends, designing strategies based on demand information, and more.
Penn State Hershey first selected Avantas' HELM and Smart Square offerings back in June 2012.
That same month, Avantas' then senior vice president of growth and innovation, Christopher Fox, became the company's new CEO, while senior executive Jackie Larson stepped into the vacant senior vice president role.
Edited by
Ashley Caputo
