12 Jan Epic Systems will build well beyond current staff size
Madison, Wis. – With plans to erect as many as five more buildings on its new Verona campus, Epic Systems is thinking about needs well beyond its existing base of 2,500 employees, according to a company executive.
Steve Dickmann, Epic’s chief administrative officer, said the company anticipates adding 1,500 more individual offices, about 500 more than the existing employee count of 2,500. In addition, there remains plenty of room on the 380-acre Verona campus to expand beyond the forthcoming Campus II phase, which would include five new 100,000-square-foot office buildings.
“We anticipate that we’ll continue to add employees,” Dickmann said. “We certainly intend to.”
The software developer, best known for its suite of electronic health records, hopes to break ground this spring on Campus II, which could also include an underground parking structure for 1,200 vehicles.
Founded in 1979, the employee-owned Epic develops electronic health record systems for patients, billing, scheduling, and other enterprise functions of healthcare providers.
Epic’s Verona campus, situated north of U.S. 18-151, is large enough to hold 1,500 employees, but the remaining 1,000 workers are scattered over sites on Tokay Boulevard, near University Research Park, and in Fitchburg.
For a company that encourages collaborative work teams and other synergies, this is hardly ideal. “Our goal is to get everyone on the Verona campus,” Dickmann said.
Epic, which is Verona’s largest taxpayer, will need municipal approval for its plans, which have yet to be formally submitted. Dickmann said the company still is in the planning stage, but hopes to get approval within the next 30 days.
Larry Saeger, Verona’s city administrator, doesn’t see anything that could derail Epic’s plans, especially given the company’s past sensitivity to the concerns city neighborhoods. “I’m not seeing anything right now,” Saeger said. “It’s hard to say what the public’s reaction to this kind of stuff will be.”
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