The CST Project is pleased to announce that the first site to implement with CST will be Lions Gate Hospital, followed by BC Children’s & BC Women’s (C&W) Hospitals. The announcement is an important early decision in the current project re-planning phase.

Jeremy Smith, Chief Transformation Officer for the CST Project explains that the decision was based on extensive consultation with the related site leadership and industry experience with similar projects.

“Best practice in a multi-site project like CST is to begin implementation in a mid-sized hospital with a wide range of clinical services, like Lions Gate, before moving on to more complex or specialty sites,” explains Jeremy.

“This approach will enable learning and testing in a moderately clinically-complex or specialized setting.”

Jeremy notes that while the team is still working on the timing and details of these implementations, the decision plays an important role in completing the new project plan.

“This plan will give us a clear picture of the work required to finish design, configure and test the new clinical processes and system, and prepare for implementation,” he says. “We will be able to determine dates for implementation once this plan is finalized.”

Sechelt Hospital, which was originally scheduled to be first, will remain one of the early sites to implement with CST. It is expected that Sechelt will implement at roughly the same time as C&W, or just before or after. The team is also consulting with operations and clinical leaders on the sequencing of all subsequent sites.

“I’d really like to thank staff and physicians across our organizations for their ongoing support of this important project,” he says. “We will continue to provide regular updates and welcome your input at any time. If you have any questions or concerns, I encourage you reach out to us.”

For more details on this decision, along with criteria it was based on, please read the memo . For further questions, contact a representative from your organization.

What is CST?

CST is a project to improve patient care by making sure that our practices are evidence-based and supported by safe, reliable and consistent processes and information across clinical areas, and enabled by smarter technology, including an electronic health record. To learn more, visit CSTproject.ca.

For more information, please contact Donna Stanton, CST Executive Director/Transformation Lead, VCH at donna.stanton@vch.ca.