Case Study: Lafayette General Health achieves reduced complications, improved documentation and lower sepsis mortality with Cerner

Lafayette General Health honored with prestigious HIMSS Enterprise Davies Award

Lafayette General Health, a hospital system in Lafayette, Louisiana, earned the 2017 HIMSS Enterprise Davies Award after tackling gaps in patient care identified across three areas: accidental punctures/lacerations (PSI‑15), clinical documentation, and sepsis mortality. Prior processes relied on retrospective reporting and inconsistent physician coding, CDI software use was ineffective, and sepsis outcomes were higher than desired.

LGH implemented EHR-driven real-time reporting, integrated CDI tools with Cerner PowerChart, and created a sepsis response nurse role plus Cerner’s St. John Sepsis agent, backed by cross‑department governance and teamwork. Results included a 34% reduction in accidental punctures, CDI query response rates rising from 82% to 93% with net variance reimbursement increasing from $292K to $1.8M, and sepsis mortality falling from 16% to under 13%—an estimated three lives saved per month and roughly $343,680 in savings over the measured period.

Lafayette General Health

Mike Dozier

Vice President and Chief Information Officer of IT