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	Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Flame the author     In this article Introduction Getting Ready for the Big Date No Shining Examples A Whole New World Children's IT Makes Friends on the Floors 20/20 Hindsight Next Steps

When IT embarks on a project that affects an entire user base, it pays to have established a reservoir of goodwill.

With that in mind, Children's has instituted a program sure to help polish IT's image in all corners of the organization. Dubbed the "Buddy System" by Technical Services Manager Kevin Murray, the program encourages IT staffers to "adopt" a floor or area of the hospital. Each participating IT employee then gets to know his or her adopted users, listening to their needs and helping solve any technology problems that arise.

"Just having people walk through the hospital and identify themselve--'I'm from IT. Can I do anything for you?'--has led to incredibly positive feedback," says CIO Daniel Nigrin. Because Nigrin is also a staff physician, he speaks from experience when he says, "I'd get frustrated when I would come to a floor and walk up to a station and the keyboard was disconnected or the mouse was missing." Users in the area--doctors, nurses, support personnel--were either too busy to call the helpdesk for repair or didn't know where to go for support. Since starting the Buddy System, Children's IT has become more proactive, solving problems that once lingered and tarnished its image.

By helping to remove doctors and nurses from the tech-support process, the program allows for more focused patient care. All it takes is an occasional stroll through the halls.