Boston Children’s Hospital

Boston Children’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate and Teaching Hospital, is one of the world’s largest pediatric medical institutions. With 40 clinical departments and 258 specialized programs, Boston Children’s provides care to over 650,000 patients annually from more than 160 countries and supports a network of 3,000 researchers and medical professionals.

In alignment with its mission to deliver world-class care and lead in research, Boston Children’s Hospital has continuously invested in its digital infrastructure to improve patient and family experiences. The hospital’s dedicated digital team, led by Haley Sterczala Palazini and William Gagnon, is committed to being tech-forward, always exploring new solutions to enhance care delivery and streamline operations. Managing the hospital’s vast ecosystem and the associated data volume required robust digital solutions, which Boston Children’s previous infrastructure struggled to provide.

The Problem

As Boston Children’s grew into a global leader in pediatric care, its digital platforms, particularly its content management system, began to show signs of strain. Their outdated and expensive Sitecore CMS hindered their ability to manage network performance, scalability, and infrastructure flexibility.

The hospital also faced challenges in managing an alliance of over 40 separate organizational websites, leading to inconsistencies in user experience and inefficiencies in site management. This fragmentation made it difficult to deliver a cohesive digital presence to patients and stakeholders.

“One of the challenges for many healthcare systems is that we run very slim in our department. We have a limited number of people and a restricted budget. We needed extra hands, but it’s very hard to get new people to join as full-time employees.” — William Gangnon, Head of Global Digital Strategy Transformation & Customer Experience

Additionally, with nearly 1,800 patients visiting daily, Boston Children’s call center was overwhelmed. The existing digital tools weren’t sufficient to handle the high volume of patient inquiries, making it challenging to efficiently address even routine questions.

To add to the complexity, Boston Children’s small digital marketing team required additional support and turned to external experts to assist with ongoing projects, develop new features, and offer 24/7 technical support. The organization also faced challenges with departmental silos, which hindered communication between marketing and IT, causing delays in project execution.

Why Boston Children’s Hospital Chose Augusto

Boston Children’s Hospital partnered with Augusto in 2021 due to their collaborative and responsive approach. Augusto’s deep understanding of Boston Children’s digital needs in the healthcare space and ability to work as an extension of their internal team made them the perfect fit. With their team’s support, we knew we could save time and launch initiatives more quickly. Augusto’s expertise in cloud solutions, software engineering, and digital operations was crucial in resolving the hospital’s infrastructure challenges.

Augusto’s Solution

Throughout our partnership, Augusto has supported Boston Children’s in launching multiple products and initiatives, including migrating their website to a cloud-based platform, automating network resources, consolidating webpages, and developing an advanced chatbot.

Cloud Migration & Infrastructure Optimization

To address Boston Children’s infrastructure challenges, Augusto started by migrating BCH’s website from Sitecore to a more cost-effective, cloud-based Drupal platform. This shift immediately enhanced performance, scalability, and flexibility, allowing BCH to scale its digital infrastructure with ease. The cloud infrastructure, built using AWS, allowed workloads to run closer to users, improving responsiveness, especially during traffic spikes.

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) Automation & Scalability

Augusto implemented an infrastructure-as-code (IaC) approach to automate the management and provisioning of network resources, eliminating the need for manual adjustments. This solution not only streamlined operations but also introduced auto-scaling capabilities, ensuring that the hospital’s digital resources expanded or contracted based on real-time demand, optimizing both performance and cost efficiency.

Website Consolidation 

To improve Boston Children’s fragmented digital presence, Augusto consolidated over 40 separate organizational websites into one unified platform under Boston Children’s main site infrastructure. This allowed for a consistent user experience and simplified the management of digital assets. In addition, we developed a custom chatbot capable of addressing the majority of frequently asked questions, reducing the number of routine inquiries handled by the call center.

Chatbot Development 

Finally, recognizing the need for ongoing support, Augusto augmented Boston Children’s internal digital team by providing continuous development expertise. Our team ensured that new features were implemented smoothly and digital assets were maintained efficiently, with 24/7 technical support available to address any issues that arose.

The Results

The migration to a cloud-based Drupal platform delivered significant improvements in scalability and performance. This allowed the hospital to handle increased web traffic more efficiently, particularly during high-demand periods, while simultaneously reducing costs. For example, Boston Children’s realized an annual savings of $120K on search functionality alone. Boston Children’s now benefits from a more reliable and flexible digital infrastructure that meets the demands of both patients and internal users.

By consolidating website content, 30,000 to 13,000 pages, under Boston Children’s main site, Augusto helped the hospital create a unified digital presence. This integration resulted in a more cohesive user experience for patients, stakeholders, and internal teams, with the hospital tracking over 10-12 million site visitors annually. The streamlined digital ecosystem not only improved usability but also made it easier for Boston Children’s teams to manage their digital assets and content more effectively. Augusto completed the project in two months, significantly accelerating the timeline from the year it was expected to take the Boston Children’s internal team.

The introduction of the custom chatbot had a direct impact on Boston Children’s call center efficiency. The chatbot was able to handle the majority of routine inquiries, doubling its engagement from 500 to 1,000 interactions per month. This eased the pressure on the call center staff, allowing them to focus on more complex and urgent matters, thereby improving patient service and overall operational efficiency.The chatbot has also become an internal resource that the BCH teams can use to answer questions.

The partnership between Boston Children’s Hospital and Augusto has fostered an ongoing collaborative relationship. With Augusto acting as an extension of Boston Children’s digital team, the hospital has been able to continuously implement new digital features, enhance user experiences, and maintain its digital platforms with the confidence of around-the-clock support. This collaboration has strengthened Boston Children’s ability to deliver world-class care with a robust and scalable digital infrastructure.

“Working with Augusto is like having concierge-level service. They know our brand, our style, and can translate our needs into technical solutions.” — William Gangnon, Head of Global Digital Strategy Transformation & Customer Experience

Additionally, Augusto has helped Boston Children’s break down organizational silos, improving cross-functional efficiency. As a result, the marketing and IT departments now communicate and collaborate more effectively, leading to faster project completion and smoother negotiations between teams.