CASE STUDY | AllianceChicago

A Collaborative Legacy EHR Conversion and Archiving Approach Supports AllianceChicago’s Network Expansion of FQHCs

AllianceChicago accelerates network expansion while minimizing risk by partnering with Aesto Health to address a subset of the more complex legacy EHR data conversion and archiving challenges

AllianceChicago is a Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) that supports Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) nationwide with shared services, health IT, and strategic guidance. As the network expands, AllianceChicago is responsible for onboarding new FQHCs and consolidating disparate EHR systems into a more efficient, standardized environment.

THE CHALLENGE

Each new FQHC introduced unique legacy system challenges that could compromise efficiency and compliance. Supporting more than 220 health centers nationwide, AllianceChicago faced the challenge of consolidating legacy EHR data and ensuring a consistent approach to migrating and converting to athenaOne. Without this, growth risked operational inefficiencies, fragmented patient records, and disruptions to continuity of care.

The challenge was not simply technical. Efficient expansion required a repeatable, collaborative process that aligned all stakeholders, minimized risk, supported growth timelines, and preserved the integrity of patient data across diverse systems. Solving this challenge would be essential to AllianceChicago’s ability to efficiently onboard FQHCs, streamline operations, and maintain trust with the communities they serve.

Fragmented Data Across Multiple Systems

As AllianceChicago’s network grows, so does the complexity of bringing new health centers onto athenaOne. A recurring challenge across these transitions has been data fragmentation, with clinical and dental records spread across multiple platforms and in various formats, making reporting and business management a major challenge.

EHR Systems Involved In These Projects:

athenaPractice (previously Centricity)
Quanum (previously Care360)
Veradigm (previously Allscripts)
Dentrix
Visualutions

Incomplete Conversions That Left Patients Without Records

Previous conversion partners treated each transition as a one-off technical exercise, moving records without understanding the full scope of an FQHC ecosystem and their resulting business requirements. Payer data went missing. Dental records vanished in transit. Images disappeared entirely. When patients arrived at a health center that had recently gone live on a new EHR, their records from the previous 90 to 120 days were often unavailable, forcing repeat visits and repeated manual data entry, undermining trust in the transition’s effectiveness.

The Need for a Partner Who Understood FQHCs

AllianceChicago needed a conversion partner with genuine expertise in the community health environment, one who could think holistically, move quickly when timelines shifted, and get it right the first time.

“Several other vendors we tried were merely wanting to format our legacy data for athenaOne. Not really getting everything organized exactly the way we need it. I don’t want the same data in five places in athena. I want it all in one place, where it was in the legacy EHR. This was clearly something others were unable to do for us.”

Greg Wolverton

Director of HIT Technical Assistance and Consulting, AllianceChicago

THE SOLUTION

Strategy-First Approach That Surfaced What Was Missed Before

Aesto Health began each engagement with a thorough upfront legacy EHR system assessment, looking beyond what systems a health center was leaving to understand what data existed, where it lived, and what the clinical team would need on day one before starting the conversion work. This approach consistently uncovered previously overlooked gaps, enabling new project deliverables to address past data gaps.

Smarter Data Mapping

Rather than rebuilding data mapping decisions from scratch for every client, Aesto Health carried forward accurate configurations from previous AllianceChicago projects. This reduced the effort required for data mapping by 20-50%, improving data accuracy and accelerating the path to go-live.

20%-50%

Data Mapping Time Saved

Improved Visibility Into Unknown Data

During one health center’s platform update, data flagged as “Unknown” required multiple clicks to investigate, slowing clinical workflows at the point of care. Aesto Health identified the root of the friction and built software enhancements to it’s platform tools so that providers could see the status, associated date, and internal notes directly in the quick-view panel, reducing confusion and supporting faster and more accurate decision-making.

Single Clinical and Dental Data Migration

Aesto Health delivers full athenaOne conversions, including dental data migrations, a capability that previously required a separate vendor and still resulted in data loss. AllianceChicago can now offer its health centers a single workflow, a single point of accountability, and a comprehensive clinical and dental archiving partnership.

Agility When It Mattered Most

Previous to the Aesto Health relationship, another vendor’s abrupt mid-project exit left AllianceChicago exposed. They quickly pivoted to partner with Aesto Health. Aesto Health ensured the go-live happened on schedule without compromising clinical operations.

“You guys were able to deliver, and deliver quickly. This kind of agility is important to us. You answered the call and turned on a dime to make it happen on time, and you did it within the original budget, and you actually came in under budget while delivering more than what our first expectation was.”

Greg Wolverton

Director of HIT Technical Assistance and Consulting, AllianceChicago

THE RESULTS

Key Results at a Glance

- 20–50% Data Mapping Time Saved
- On-Time Go-Live
- Under Budget
- Improved Efficiency with Scaleable Strategies

On-Time Go-Live

Health centers live on athenaOne as scheduled, even amid third-party disruptions that threatened the timeline.

Under Budget. Over Delivered.

The final project cost came in below the original budget while exceeding the initially envisioned scope.

Complete Patient Records at Go-Live

Patients arrived on day one with their full record history accessible in athenaOne, with no missing dental data, no dual-visit gaps, and no loss of provider confidence.

An Ongoing Trusted Partnership

AllianceChicago continues to rely on Aesto Health across its growing portfolio of health centers, with a relationship built on accountability, deep FQHC expertise, and consistent delivery.

ABOUT AllianceChicago

Founded in 1997, AllianceChicago is a non-profit health organization dedicated to improving personal, community, and public health through innovative collaboration. Serving a national network of more than 200 community health centers across 19 states, AllianceChicago helps safety net providers deliver high-quality care to vulnerable and underserved populations through three core areas of focus: Health Care Collaboration, Health Information Technology, and Health Research and Education.

HEADQUARTERS Chicago, Illinois

FOUNDED 1997

SPECIALTIES Health Care Collaboration, Health Information Technology, Health Research and Education, Data Analytics, EHR Hosting, Community Health Center Support, Population Health, Health Equity

WEBSITE https://alliancechicago.org

ABOUT AESTO HEALTH

Aesto provides a SaaS platform for migrating, archiving, and accessing HIPAA-compliant data from disparate healthcare IT systems. Aesto’s solutions serve investor-backed healthcare groups, independent medical clinics, and hospitals by simplifying the process of decommissioning legacy EHRs with fast and accurate data transformations.

HEADQUARTERS Birmingham, Alabama

FOUNDED 2014