Three Questions With Chad Bianchi, CPA, MBA, Director of Finance, University of Connecticut Health Center

The University of Connecticut (UConn) Health Center is a world-class biomedical research center, inpatient and outpatient healthcare facility, medical school and dental school. With approximately 5,000 employees, the UConn Health Center is a major economic driver in the region, generating nearly $1 billion annually in gross state product. Chad Bianchi, director of finance, talks with us about the organization’s migration to SunGard Banner Finance/HR system, which began in June 2009 and went live July 1, 2011.

Why did UConn Health Center decide to implement Banner Finance?

After 20-plus years of service, our legacy ERP system was sun setting.  After a thorough vetting process, the SunGard Banner Finance/HR system was chosen to replace the existing system.  There was a combination of things that led us to choose the Banner system—flexibility, ease of transition and cost considerations among them. We are a very complex health system, with a hospital, physician practice, medical schools—including health and dental—and correctional managed healthcare.  Banner is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of each sector.

What were some of the challenges involved in the implementation process?

There have been a lot of challenges.  Anytime you take data from one system and try to put it in another, it is going to create a challenge.  Further, users must now be more aware of what colleagues are entering into the system.  In the old environment, you could go out and do your own thing.  In this new environment, you have to pay attention to what your coworkers are doing because it’s going to affect you.  It is a big change, no matter which process you go through.  Now, bringing all the information and the people together becomes a significant challenge.  It is a lot to manage.

What are the expected outcomes/benefits of this transition?

The various products that will be implemented as part of the overall system bring unique benefits to users.  For example, the Self-Service Banner (SSB), which will be the main system interface for UConn Health Center personnel, enables users to query data and search through screens to look up budgets, encumbrances, FOAPAL balances and invoices like never before.  Travel and Expense will also allow for automatic routing of expense reports, while Husky Buy, which replaces FRS Purchasing and Settlement (AP) modules for most transactions, puts the power to order in the hands of those who know their needs best, freeing up buyer time for more value-added activities.

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