EDWARD-ELMHURST HEALTH CASE STUDY

As one of the largest integrated health systems in Illinois, Edward-Elmhurst Health required a secure, HIPAA compliant, full-service IT asset disposition (ITAD) company that could handle the complete process of proper hard drive destruction. Where previous vendors couldn’t provide comprehensive services, Cascade stepped in and handled the full spectrum of Edward-Elmhurst Health’s ITAD needs. The outcome was a secure and sustainable solution, and an added level of confidence that Edward-Elmhurst Health’s data was in the right hands.

Continue reading to learn why working with Cascade means Edward-Elmhurst Health no longer worries about data breaches or secure disposition.

CHALLENGE

Edward-Elmhurst Heatlh’s previous vendor didn’t provide comprehensive ITAD services, leaving them to manage much of the process, prior to the vendor ever touching the devices. Edward-Elmhurst Health had to implement its own in-house hard drive destruction process, a costly operation that took extra time, labor, and financial resources. This made it difficult for the ITAD vendor to accurately report on the assets once received because serial numbers were often left illegible in the destruction process. Edward-Elmhurst Health was also responsible for the packaging and storage of devices until pickup. Because the ITAD vendor employed a separate third-party logistics company to collect and transport devices, Edward-Elmhurst Health lacked trust in the vendor’s transparency, chain of custody, and overall ability to meet data security requirements.

With more than 50 locations and a staff of nearly 8,000 employees, Edward-Elmhurst Health required a secure, HIPAA compliant, full-service IT asset disposition (ITAD) company it trusted to do it all — with adequate resources and capabilities to handle the complete process, from onsite services, to packaging and logistics, to secure disposition and reporting.

SOLUTION

Cascade is a trusted partner for all IT asset and mobile disposition needs that handles the full spectrum of Edward-Elmhurst Health’s ITAD needs. It is also a contracted supplier of a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) used by Edward-Elmhurst Health to access discounted pricing and an easy contract process. Because all Edward-Elmhurst Health locations are within our flat-rate freight zones, we can easily coordinate direct pickups and onsite services with little notice. This frees up Edward-Elmhurst Health’s limited resources by outsourcing onsite IT equipment packaging, collection, and data destruction to us.

Edward-Elmhurst Health chose Cascade Asset Management as its new ITAD vendor based on trust, reliability and industry expertise in . . .

THREE AREAS:

SATISFACTION

Cascade’s professionalism and personalized customer care is a key factor in its relationship with Edward-Elmhurst Health. Prior to removing any devices, our team was onsite to answer questions and conduct walkthroughs, offering a level of expertise and preparedness that Edward-Elmhurst Health had not experienced with other ITAD vendors. Our employees are certified in IT Asset Management skills and trained through industry best practices. All Cascade onsite staff wear company uniforms with badges that include their name, photo, and company information for an added layer of customer confidence.

SECURITY

Prior to Cascade, Edward-Elmhurst’s Health ITAD vendor used a third-party company to collect, remove, and transport equipment to begin the disposition process. Because Edward-Elmhurst Health’s hard drives and other media typically contain Personal Health Information (PHI), the chain of custody and ability to reconcile equipment to final data destruction became a serious liability concern around HIPAA compliance.

Using its own fleet of drivers and vehicles, Cascade eliminated the need for a third-party and added a layer of security and confidence with its NAID AAA Certification. We also provided locked bins for hard drive storage and transportation, which assisted in tidiness in their storage room.

Cascade offered Milestone Reports, and the Cascade Tracker online portal, to keep Edward-Elmhurst Health informed of processing activity each step of the way, from each customer site, to when the assets were received and inventoried at our secure facilities through data destruction, processing, and final disposition. IT managers could easily identify the status of individual assets with detailed reports, including Inventory Receipt Reports, Certificates of Destruction, and Rebate Reports, which showed how much value it generated from the resale of its equipment.

Cascade also offered personalized training on the reporting tools, so Edward-Elmhurst Health staff felt comfortable knowing they had access to the information and reporting at their fingertips.

SAVINGS

As a member of the GPO, Edward-Elmhurst Health received discounted pricing benefits, allowing the IT staff to consolidate its spend and improve rebates.

In addition, partnering with Cascade saved Edward-Elmhurst Health time and costs associated with managing the first stages of the destruction process internally by outsourcing this work to us. Edward-Elmhurst Health also earned enough rebates from the resale of retired equipment to cover the vast majority of its program costs in its first six months of using our services.

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ABOUT EDWARD-ELMHURST HEALTH

Edward-Elmhurst Health was created in 2013 by the merger of Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and is now one of the largest integrated health systems in Illinois. Edward-Elmhurst Health consists of three hospitals: Edward Hospital, Elmhurst Hospital and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health and has 50 outpatient locations across a service area of 1.7 million residents in the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago.

Edward-Elmhurst Health is a member of one of the largest healthcare Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO) in the country.

CLIENT COMMENTS

“Then entire team is helpful, friendly, and always available to answer my questions. I know I can count on Cascade at any time.“

“We’re not worried about any data breaches because we know Cascade takes security as seriously as we do.”

“Working with Cascade gave us great rebates. We never saw those types of dollars when working with other ITAD vendors.”

J.S., IT Inventory Specialist, Edward-Elmhurst Health

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Find an ITAD vendor that values your partnership and offers reliable customer service.

Having a trusted vendor with open communication and availability is key to a successful relationship.

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