How a Community Hospital CIO Chose Independence, Modernized Its EHR, and Got AI Right

When Craig Rice returned to Schneck Medical Center as CIO in 2021, he did not walk in with a predetermined answer. He walked in with a process.

Schneck is an independent, community-owned health system in Seymour, Indiana and the only organization in the state to receive the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. They needed to modernize their EHR. Surrounded by Epic-based health systems between Indianapolis and Louisville, the question was not just which platform to choose. It was whether independence itself was still the right strategy.

Craig joined Phil Sobol on The CereCore Podcast to walk through the full arc of that journey, from a rigorous stakeholder-driven EHR selection to early adoption of MEDITECH Traverse, managing 80+ integrations, and the responsible rollout of ambient AI with Suki.

  • 40 min

How One Community Hospital Got MEDITECH Expanse and AI Right with Schneck's VP/CIO, Craig Rice

The CereCore Podcast

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Why Schneck chose MEDITECH Expanse over Epic Community Connect

The EHR selection process at Schneck was structured and deliberate. Craig's team brought in an outside firm to guide the evaluation, engaged stakeholders from across the organization, and ran a full demonstration and scoring process with Epic's Community Connect program and MEDITECH Expanse as finalists.

The outcome was not driven by cost. It was driven by feedback. "Providers and nurses rated Expanse as the best overall solution for Schneck," Craig explained. "It wasn't a decision made on what's the lowest cost or some other metric."

Independence was also at stake. Going with Epic Community Connect would have meant partnering with another health system in their region, which would have meant ceding some control over how the system was managed. "We're not just a vote amongst a bunch of other hospitals on how we're going to manage our environment," Craig said. "That was the icing on the cake."

The interoperability problem they could not ignore

Staying on MEDITECH in an Epic-dominated market created a real data-sharing challenge. Indiana has one of the most mature health information exchanges in the country, but Craig's team was watching Epic organizations pull back from sharing with the state exchange. For a non-Epic hospital, that was a problem.

MEDITECH Traverse, which allows direct exchange with Epic hospitals, became a non-negotiable part of the decision. "If Meditech didn't have Traverse in the pipeline, that could have been a decision point for us not to move forward," Craig said. "That's how challenging this exchange of data really became for us."

Schneck was an early adopter. On day one of go-live, they were exchanging data with Epic hospitals. Shortly after, they implemented the Traverse Consolidated Viewer, which pulls multiple CCDs into a single clean view for providers. That was a significant improvement over bouncing between separate portals.

What Craig would tell every CIO planning an EHR implementation

The implementation itself was one of the most complex undertakings Schneck had ever attempted. Craig had a clear message for anyone about to go through something similar.

"Whatever you think you need, double it in terms of 3rd party implementations." -- Craig Rice, CIO, Schneck Medical Center

Schneck managed approximately 80 integrations. Craig's team had a dedicated project manager just for contracts and interfaces. He said they could have used two.

Beyond integration logistics, Craig pointed to three things that kept the organization steady throughout the project: consistent communication, alignment at every level including the board, and fast decision-making.

"You've got to be okay making fast decisions knowing you're not going to be perfect," he said. "You'll have time to fix it. That's what optimization is for."

He also gave some unexpected advice: have fun. Craig and Schneck's CMO hosted an internal podcast called "Into the Expanse", complete with a Star Wars theme. Staff remembered it. They appreciated it.

What a real partnership looks like

Schneck ran the same kind of rigorous selection process for their implementation partner that they did for their EHR. They were not looking for a firm to do an implementation by the book. They wanted a strategic advisor who could help them push the envelope.

CereCore was that partner. The implementation team was embedded on Schneck's email system and listed in their employee directory. Stakeholders had direct contact with their CereCore counterparts. Decisions moved fast because the extra layers were gone.

"Folks that are transactional? That's not the kind of group we want to partner with," Craig said. "We want somebody invested in us and ultimately here for our community."

Ambient AI done responsibly

Schneck went live with Suki for ambient AI documentation about a month before this episode recorded. The rollout came only after Expanse was stable enough to support true EHR integration. Craig was clear that the sequencing was intentional.

"We had to get to Expanse to start setting the stage for AI that is integrated into the Expanse environment," he explained. "Now that those tools are truly integrated, that takes a number of steps out of the workflow."

Early results were hard to argue with. One provider who had been staying until 6:30 or 7:30 pm most nights to finish documentation was leaving at 5:30 in the first week. They were no longer spending weekends on charts. Another provider told Craig simply: "Please don't take this away. It's transformed my life."

Schneck is not moving fast for the sake of it. Craig described a formal AI governance process where no AI project moves forward without executive sponsorship. A submission form is required. The clinical steering committee and nurse informatics council both weigh in before anything reaches the executive team.

"We've got to make sure we have the right guardrails in place," he said. "But also not put up roadblocks for technology that is truly beneficial."

Key takeaways for community hospital leaders

• Double your budget and resources for 3rd party integrations in any EHR implementation. Then double them again.
• Fast decision-making is a competitive advantage. Build board-level alignment so the team can move when it counts.
• Interoperability has to be a strategic priority from day one. Traverse gave Schneck the ability to exchange data with Epic hospitals starting at go-live.
• AI governance comes before the AI does. Build the structure first, then pilot.
• Staying independent requires real investment. "Don't underfund your EHR projects," Craig said. "This project matters. Make sure you fund it appropriately." 

More resources:

• Follow and subscribe to The CereCore Podcast.
• Assess your current MEDITECH environment.
• 5 reasons to start with a healthcare IT assessment.
• EHR Optimization: The New EHR Lifecycle.