Eclipsys Acquires Van Slyck and Associates, Inc.

Eclipsys Corporation®, The Outcomes Company®, today announced that it has acquired Van Slyck & Associates, Inc. (VSA), a patient classification, acuity-driven nurse staffing service and software company headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

VSA solutions generate nurse staffing models based upon patient acuity - the patient's severity and complexity of illness or injury - to enable nurse managers to staff their units appropriately to ensure better employee productivity and improved quality of care. Reports generated by VSA solutions are also designed to support informed executive decision making regarding care delivery and associated costs, enhance compliance with regulatory guidelines such as JCAHO Staffing Effectiveness Standards, and demonstrate compliance with state regulations on nurse staffing.

Since 2004, Eclipsys has offered Sunrise Patient Acuityâ„¢, a module that includes VSA's patient acuity methodology embedded into the interdisciplinary clinical documentation capabilities of Eclipsys' Sunrise Clinical Managerâ„¢. Sunrise Patient Acuity taps the VSA methodology so patient acuity is calculated as an automatic byproduct of nursing documentation. Now, with the acquisition of VSA, Eclipsys will be able to further expand its integrated solutions' staffing and productivity management and reporting capabilities.

VSA offers a full suite of tools including staffing and productivity management software, quality indicator measurement and staffing report cards, patient classification software used for nursing activity studies, and a national comparative database.

Only Embedded System that Automatically Calculates Patient Acuity

"The decision to acquire Van Slyck & Associates reflects Eclipsys' ongoing commitment to deliver innovative solutions that help our clients improve the delivery and quality of care, particularly in a high-acuity setting," said R. Andrew Eckert, Eclipsys' president and chief executive officer. "With this acquisition, Eclipsys is excited to be able to provide a uniquely embedded system that automatically calculates patient acuity so management can make more informed staffing decisions to improve employee productivity and patient outcomes."

"As patient populations age," Eckert continued, "complexity of care and acuity levels increase and allocation of already-scarce nursing resources becomes even more critical to maintaining a safe patient environment. By integrating VSA solutions into Sunrise Clinical Manager, Eclipsys will help clients allocate resources appropriately and ensure that skill levels of nursing personnel match the acuity-driven needs of the patients to help healthcare providers maintain high-quality care standards."

Eckert added, "Ann Van Slyck has been a pioneer in the area of patient acuity and nurse staffing standards. We are excited to have Ann and her group join the Eclipsys team."

"Acuity-based nurse staffing systems are now required by many regulators, licensing and legislative entities, as these organizations recognize the importance of allocating nursing resources based on individual patient needs," said Ann Van Slyck, RN, MSN, CNAA, FAAN, VSA's founder and chief executive officer. "The ability of the combined Eclipsys and VSA solution to automate this process helps ensure improved accuracy of the patient data, eliminates redundant work for the staff nurses while also generating timely information for care quality and staffing decisions. Now that we are part of the Eclipsys family, my team and we welcome the opportunity to work even more closely with Eclipsys to continue to enhance our solutions that help manage the fragile balance of care and the cost of providing that care."

By Eclipsys