Blessing Health System Achieves Successful Epic Go-Live Supported by Application Rationalization and a Disciplined Data Conversion

"On the first day we saw patients in Epic, we could not have a blank slate of their history. The patient’s story had to be there."

— Lea Ann Eickelschulte, CIO, Blessing Health System

Watch the Video

Blessing Health System Achieves Successful Epic Go-Live Supported by Application Rationalization and a Disciplined Data Conversion

OVERVIEW:

Blessing Health System, a not-for-profit health system serving the Tri-State region around Quincy, Illinois, set out to replace a fragmented landscape of legacy electronic medical records with a single Epic platform.

The move was the largest technology undertaking in the organization’s recent history, and its success depended on understanding what data lived where and how it could be migrated into Epic accurately.

To address this challenge, Blessing partnered with MediQuant for application rationalization, data conversion, and legacy data archiving with Epic integration.

Before any records were moved, MediQuant helped Blessing inventory its full application portfolio, identify the true source of truth for each data set, and determine what should be converted into Epic, archived, or retired.

This work enabled a clean conversion of years of clinical history into the new system. Blessing went live on Epic in March 2026, and clinicians and end users reported that the converted data was accurate and usable from day one.

CHALLENGE:

Blessing’s decision to move to Epic was driven by the goal of streamlining operations through a single system capable of supporting high-quality patient care.

At the time, Blessing operated two primary EMRs: one for inpatient care and one for clinics, both built on legacy Allscripts and Altera platforms. These systems were surrounded by numerous third-party and ancillary applications, and the EMRs did not consistently exchange data with one another.

In some cases, the same clinical information existed in multiple places, and staff had created manual workarounds to reconcile it. This made it difficult to migrate data into Epic with confidence until the organization understood, application by application, where each data set truly originated.

Two major risks shaped the effort. The first was continuity of care: providers needed timely access to legacy data from the first day on Epic. The second was the complexity of the

conversion itself, given Epic’s demanding timeline and the limited support available from outgoing third-party vendors.

Because Epic staff are not permitted to view the screens or databases of legacy systems, the burden of analyzing and transforming the legacy data fell to Blessing and MediQuant.

Solution:

Blessing evaluated conversion and archiving vendors using peer references and vendor track records. MediQuant stood out because of its history of collaborating effectively with both customer teams and Epic, as well as its direct experience with the specific legacy platforms Blessing was retiring.

Blessing deliberately chose to use one vendor for both conversion and archiving so that decisions would remain aligned across both efforts.

The engagement began with an application rationalization process that Blessing referred to internally as data stewardship. MediQuant reviewed Blessing’s application portfolio one system at a time, asking detailed questions about how each system was used, what data it contained, and where that data originated.

This process revealed that the true source of truth for many data sets was not always the EMR where clinicians viewed the data, but often a third-party system feeding the EMR through an interface.

Identifying these sources changed where the conversion pulled data from and gave Blessing the foundation to decide which applications could be retired, which data needed to reside permanently in Epic, and which data should remain outside of Epic.

Implementation

Once the scope and source systems were defined, MediQuant’s familiarity with Blessing’s Allscripts and Altera environments reduced friction throughout the conversion process.

Because MediQuant already understood the relevant tables and databases, Blessing did not need to spend time teaching the vendor where data lived. This was especially important because Epic personnel could not directly access legacy systems.

The conversion proceeded on a weekly cadence involving Blessing’s conversion team, MediQuant, and Epic. These meetings were used to manage milestones, review findings, address decision points, and keep operational and clinical leaders informed.

Transforming clinical data into Epic required more than simple one-to-one mapping. The iterative load process demanded detailed analysis to convert legacy data into a format Epic could accept.

Operational and clinical engagement was central to the effort. Blessing created a workgroup with representation from every operational area, and providers participated directly in decisions about what data to convert, how far back to go, and what should be archived instead.

This collaborative approach helped ensure that build decisions reflected the needs of the people delivering care and reinforced a partnership-oriented relationship between Blessing and MediQuant.

Results:

Blessing went live on Epic in March 2026, and by the organization’s own assessment the conversion was successful.

Providers had access to a complete patient history from the first day of care rather than starting with an empty chart. For most patients, this included approximately three years of converted clinical history available directly in Epic.

The converted data also benefited patients by allowing them to trend recurring results, such as lab values, through the patient portal.

The project remained on schedule, with MediQuant meeting every deadline set by both Epic and Blessing, including aggressive milestones.

Clinicians and end users reported satisfaction with the quality and usability of the converted data. In addition, the earlier application rationalization work ensured that the data brought into Epic came from the correct source systems and reflected deliberate decisions about what to convert, archive, or leave behind.

Future outlook:

With Epic live and the conversion complete, Blessing has moved into the archiving phase of the program with MediQuant and its DataArk platform.

The same source-of-truth decisions established during application rationalization are now guiding which legacy systems are archived and decommissioned.

This approach is intended to keep historical data accessible while reducing the cost and risk associated with maintaining outdated platforms.

Blessing is also evaluating MediQuant’s validation services to help address internal resource constraints related to data validation. The organization views the completed conversion as proof of the partnership and the archiving work as its continuation.

Advice for other health systems:

Blessing leaders offered several recommendations for organizations preparing for an Epic migration and a legacy data strategy.

· Start the conversion and archive evaluation alongside the EMR selection process rather than waiting until after the platform decision is finalized.

· Invest time in application rationalization before converting any data so that the true source of truth for each data set is confirmed.

· Build a dedicated conversion workgroup with operational and clinical representation to guide decisions about what data to convert, archive, or exclude.

· Plan early for validation resources, including clinician time and external support if internal staffing is limited.

· Choose a partner with direct experience in the specific legacy platforms being retired to reduce delays and improve conversion accuracy.

Legacy Environment Addressed:

The project addressed Allscripts and Altera EMR platforms across inpatient and ambulatory settings, along with numerous integrated third-party and ancillary clinical and administrative systems.

contact information:

For more information: Info@MediQuant.com | (800) 917-6379 | www.MediQuant.com