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Case Study 

Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital Works with Eide Bailly to Transform Data into Decisions

closeup of healthcare workers face in operating room
Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital logo
Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital| Manistique, MI

Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital (SMH) has served Michigan’s upper peninsula since 1950. As a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), SMH offers a wide range of services, including a 24-hour emergency room, Medical-Surgical Inpatient Unit, Outpatient Clinic, Rural Health Clinics, and Specialty Clinic.

Built on a foundation of trust, SMH is dedicated to promoting health and wellness for a thriving regional community. To enhance performance and support future growth, SMH recognized the need for a more effective data strategy. They were looking for a way to streamline and leverage the substantial data generated across departments to support proactive decision-making.

KEY RESULTS

  • Improved data accessibility
  • Streamlined communication
  • Boosted morale
  • Enhanced decision-making
  • Operational efficiency
  • Seamless implementation

Data

Get insight at the speed of now with accurate, reliable data that flows seamlessly through your organization.

Healthcare

We focus on the business of your healthcare organization so you can focus on your patients.

Who We Are

Eide Bailly is a CPA and business advisory firm helping our clients grow, thrive, and embrace opportunities and innovation.

By the Numbers

Learn more about Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital

By the numbers

Learn more about Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital

  • 12
    hospital beds
  • 75
    year legacy of care
  • $12.8m
    recent expansion

The Challenge

SMH’s data wasn’t leading to measurable improvements or guiding leadership toward operational change.

Despite collecting an abundance of information through their electronic health records (EHR) system, SMH struggled to connect this data to actionable insights.


“Our systems weren’t providing the guidance we needed,” explained CFO Eric Price. “Not knowing what we didn’t know was becoming too expensive.”


After two years of using a new EHR, the operational data and the ability to relate information to specific areas for improvement were still lacking. Price, having worked with a business intelligence (BI) solution at a previous organization, saw the potential for a similar system at SMH.


“Our goal was to reduce the number of reports and the time it took to generate them while increasing the amount of useful, actionable information to target improvement efforts,” Price said. “Eide Bailly not only offered the solution but also the expertise to work with our data.”


SMH also needed to standardize information across systems and eliminate time-consuming manual processes. Presenting data in a user-friendly format was critical to enabling teams to make informed decisions quickly.

yellow 1
Disconnected data made it difficult to see areas of improvement.
    yellow 2
    Manual processes took too much time and delayed action.
      yellow 3
      Resource constraints hindered the achievement of goals.

        The Solution

        Recognizing their internal limitations, SMH sought an external partner to help harness their data effectively.

        Leveraging their existing relationship, Price turned to Eide Bailly, whose team implemented a comprehensive analytics solution that pulled data from SMH’s EHR system, operational metrics, and financial systems.


        Microsoft Power BI was introduced for business intelligence and forecasting, enabling leaders to visualize department-specific data and make informed decisions on staffing and budgeting. Eide Bailly’s approach prioritized simplicity and ease of use — reducing the need for extensive training, eliminating cumbersome manual processes, and creating a scalable foundation for SMH’s future growth.


        Within weeks, Eide Bailly was extracting and structuring data into actionable intelligence, helping SMH move from data overload to informed decision-making. “We didn’t just move data from one system to another. We improved data quality, which is helping our team trust the information,” explained Kent LaCroix, SMH’s CIO. “The process helped shift our focus from blaming the data to asking what we can do.”


        The solution also uncovered hidden inefficiencies. For example, during implementation, the Eide Bailly team identified and corrected GL account errors related to swing beds. Correcting these errors improved operations and accelerated the project’s ROI.

        doctor-business-meeting

        "Employee morale has improved across the board. Our teams now feel confident making informed staffing decisions based on data specific to their departments."

        -Kent LaCroix, CIO | Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital

        The Results

        The data tells a story — providing actionable and clear insights for SMH.

        Data from multiple systems has been integrated into a cohesive BI solution, eliminating the challenge of reconciling reports from different platforms. With this streamlined structure, leaders now have an efficient, centralized view of operations. This has significantly reduced time spent reformatting and interpreting information, allowing for more focus on decision-making and improvement efforts.


        Productivity KPIs are now correlated with Eide Bailly’s benchmarks, helping departments allocate resources effectively and identify areas requiring attention. With data available in a user-friendly format, leaders can quickly make informed adjustments to operations. These clear, actionable insights have improved communication across the organization, facilitating transparent and productive discussions about hospital performance.

        We have synergy with Eide Bailly. They have answers to any question we have, as well as meaningful benchmarks and assets. Having data presented in this easily usable manner has had a major impact for us.
        Eric Price
        CFOSchoolcraft Memorial Hospital