Pros
Providence Saint John’s IT has improved in many ways since it was purchased by Providence. Providence has shown that it is committed to being a leader in implementing technology to advance patient care throughout the system and did so aggressively in the two years after acquiring Saint John’s from Sisters of Charity (SOC). Unlike SOC, Providence actually does a fairly good job of following its core principles with regards to how it treats its employees (caregivers).
Cons
While Providence is committed to buying new technology and systems to improve patient care, implementation is a huge issue. New systems appear to be evaluated in a vacuum with little input from IT and then dumped into IT’s lap for installation. This incomplete and badly managed project plans, implementation issues (disasters in some cases), and unforeseen infrastructure impacts affecting other critical patient care systems. Providence’s constant reorganizations leave caregivers in constant fear of being laid off, reducing overall morale.