CTG Enables a Successful Epic Go‑Live for a Leading Academic Health System

CTG’s client is one of the nation’s leading and internationally recognized academic health systems—operating a broad network of hospitals, specialty centers, and clinics and employing more than 18,000 staff and providers. 

The Challenge and Opportunity

As part of its strategic growth plan, the client recently acquired two large hospitals. The acquisitions expanded inpatient coverage, introduced modern facilities to better meet evolving patient needs, and added about 1,800 staff members and community physicians to the health system.
To fully integrate the newly acquired hospitals into its digital ecosystem, the health system initiated an enterprise-wide Epic EHR implementation at both of the newly acquired hospitals. They needed a strong partner to provide strategic guidance, right-sized staffing, and expert support to ensure a smooth go-live and high end-user adoption—critical success factors for large-scale Epic deployments. CTG has been a trusted partner to this client since 2004 for IT advisory services, staffing support, and operational and technical services. We recently supported their Epic eConsent implementation, Epic Go Health Urgent Care deployment, and Epic Beaker go-live. Our long-standing relationship, proven ability to execute successful go-lives, and familiarity with the client’s environment positioned CTG as the ideal partner for this initiative. 

The Solution and Results

CTG delivered an end-to-end solution for the health system’s Epic implementation that spanned strategy and planning, staffing validation, and go-live execution. We partnered with the client’s stakeholders early on to build a strong strategy and support model and ensure clinical, operational, and technical readiness.
Our role extended beyond the initial scope as we stepped in to provide additional advisory support in areas where another vendor needed assistance. This helped the client maintain project momentum and avoid critical delays.
CTG’s seasoned management team played a central role in guiding the initiative. Executive leaders participated in weekly advisory sessions and were onsite during go-live and senior managers remained engaged throughout the project. We also provided an activation project director and scheduling/logistics coordinator, both with deep expertise. Together, this team ensured strong governance, consistent communication, and smooth day-to-day execution.

Key areas of CTG’s support included:

• Go-live strategy and advisory services, staff right-sizing, master scheduling development, and comprehensive management—ensuring optimal resources, structure, and oversight for a smooth, efficient go-live.
• Training support and advisory services, including the Super Users program, to boost end-user confidence and adoption.
• End-to-end logistics planning, contracting, and execution, including securing hotel accommodations for the client’s staff, to eliminate the administrative burden on the health system.
• Robust Command Center and At-the-Elbow (ATE) support services, enabling efficient issue triage and sustained adoption throughout the go-live.
• Rapid response to urgent, last-minute needs:
  • Assembling a team to support device deployment and testing during the Technical Dress Rehearsal (TDR) the night before go-live, ensuring technical readiness and minimizing launch-day risk.
  • Providing peer-to-peer physician support within three days after a request from the Physician Lead for Inpatient Informatics, enhancing satisfaction and adoption. This support was so valuable that the client asked for an expanded team for the remainder of the engagement.

To deliver these services, CTG deployed a multidisciplinary team, including:

• A full management team, including executives and senior managers
• 12 specialists supporting Ambulatory Appointment Scheduling Conversion
• 10 team members supporting the TDR initiative
• 11 Level 1.5 Epic agents for the Virtual Command Center
• Nearly 200 ATE go-live support consultants
• 6 Epic Specialty Training Specialists (STS)

Outcomes and Impact

The CTG team was instrumental in delivering a successful, on-time, under-budget, fully-staffed Epic go-live for the client’s two new hospitals. Our support directly advanced the client’s goal of fully integrating its newly acquired hospitals while minimizing disruption to clinicians and patients. With all hospitals now operating on a unified Epic instance, benefits include:

• Stronger interoperability and data exchange across the system
• Reduced IT complexity through a standard EHR environment
• Increased end-user adoption and satisfaction driven by targeted training, strong Super User engagement, and peer-to-peer clinical support
• Enhanced patient experiences, driven by a unified patient record, improved care coordination, and centralized patient-facing tools like MyChart

CTG's responsiveness, expertise, and ability to deliver exceptional support—even in last-minute situations—strengthened our partnership with our client. Both client executives and another vendor complimented our team as the best management team they had ever worked with, reinforcing the value delivered throughout the engagement.