WellSpan Health has announced a plan to move its entire technology infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The health care system, which serves Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland, will shift all applications, data, and environments from traditional data centers to AWS. The migration is expected to be completed by April 2026.
This transition will affect systems and clinical applications used by 1.2 million patients across nine hospitals and more than 250 facilities. According to WellSpan, the move will allow the organization to unify its data systems for both care teams and patients, leading to operational efficiencies that fragmented systems cannot provide.
Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., president and CEO of WellSpan Health, said: “Our comprehensive migration to the cloud accelerates our ability to deploy new clinical capabilities that transform patient care while advancing our overall innovation strategy. When a physician can access complete patient imaging in seconds instead of hours, we’re not just modernizing technology—we’re improving patient outcomes. Our new cloud infrastructure also enables us to quickly implement solutions that will free our clinicians from thousands of hours of administrative work annually so they can focus on what they do best: caring for our communities.”
The migration marks a shift away from a data center-based model toward rapid deployment and scaling of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. General Catalyst’s Health Assurance Transformation Company (HATCo) helped facilitate the collaboration with AWS. WellSpan’s partnership with HATCo includes specialized technology solutions and leverages General Catalyst’s broader partnership with AWS aimed at improving patient outcomes.
Kasey Paulus, executive vice president and chief operating officer at WellSpan Health, stated: “Our decision to go all-in on AWS will enable insights and innovations impossible in traditional siloed environments. This is the largest health care technology transformation in our region’s history, and it positions WellSpan to be a premier partner for technology leaders across the country.”
Dan Sheeran, vice president and general manager for Healthcare and Life Science at AWS, commented: “WellSpan is building a foundation with AWS that will improve care and outcomes for patients across their health system by bringing data together into standardized formats that are optimized for AI applications. To do this, it is essential to have the most secure and compliant cloud when handling patient data, along with AWS’s built-in AI governance and responsible AI frameworks that follow the industry’s highest standards to protect patient information. We look forward to continuing to work alongside WellSpan as they unlock the cloud and AI’s full potential to deliver exceptional care to their patients.”
The collaboration involves migrating about 7.5 petabytes of clinical and non-clinical data as well as more than 300 applications—including those supporting nursing, cardiology, pharmacy, supply chain functions—to AWS. The company says this is the most comprehensive health system cloud migration in the Mid-Atlantic region.
AWS will provide secure architectures tailored specifically for WellSpan’s needs while ensuring compliance throughout the health system. By moving data into standardized formats optimized for AI use, WellSpan expects faster turnaround times on tasks such as medical imaging analysis or processing patient records—reducing wait times from days to minutes.
The shift is also expected to reduce administrative workload by enabling rapid deployment of AI-powered solutions that save thousands of hours annually for clinical and corporate staff.
Additionally, using cloud architecture allows WellSpan flexibility in scaling computing resources based on demand without investing in additional physical infrastructure.
AWS provides high network availability with over 166 HIPAA-eligible services as well as certifications meeting global compliance standards such as HITRUST CSF. The platform also features built-in AI governance frameworks designed for rigorous protection of sensitive health information.
