Highlights from the 2007 Fall CIO Forum

CHIME CIOs and CHIME Foundation Representatives gathered at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas for CHIME’s annual Fall CIO Forum event. Held from October 9-12, CHIME’s 15th anniversary Forum drew over 250 CIOs and nearly 200 CHIME Foundation representatives and other invited guests. Special thanks to Fall Forum Planning Chair Tim Stettheimer, his entire planning committee, the CHIME Foundation, and everyone involved for their help for making this year’s Fall CIO Forum such a memorable event. For those of you unable to attend, a summary of highlights follows:

On Tuesday afternoon, registrants attended an optional Pre-Forum Workshop entitled “The CIO’s Guide to Effective IT Performance Measurement Strategy.” On Tuesday evening, attendees gathered for a special welcoming reception featuring a festive south-of-the-border theme.

On Wednesday morning, CHIME Chair Ron Strachan and CHIME President and CEO Rich Correll welcomed the crowd and provided a summary of CHIME’s activities and initiatives this year. Rich took a moment to recognize our 15-year members, as well as all of those who have volunteered their time to serve on the CHIME Board of Trustees.

Wednesday’s educational sessions began with a forward-thinking presentation by Jeff Goldsmith, PhD, President of Health Futures, Inc. Dr. Goldsmith shared his views on the hype surrounding the aging Baby Boomer population’s effects on the healthcare system (things aren’t as dire as we thought!). He also showed the audience some cutting-edge projects being tested by the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and discussed how such projects will affect healthcare delivery across the board.

Following Dr. Goldsmith’s presentation, attendees heard from career expert Marilyn Moats Kennedy, founder of Career Strategies. Kennedy’s humorous presentation style charmed the audience as she shared the best way to hire and retain talent from every age cohort—pre-Boomers, Boomers, Cuspers, Busters, and Netsters. She explained the differences between each group in terms of workplace characteristics, lifestyles, motivation, communication, and social values.

On Wednesday afternoon, attendees took advantage of focus groups held by CHIME Foundation firms. These small group sessions gave CHIME members and their vendor/consultant partners the opportunity to share thoughts and ideas with each other on current healthcare and technology issues. Wednesday evening’s reception closed out the day and provided members with an opportunity to network with colleagues while enjoying live music and dinner.

On Thursday morning, early risers took advantage of a Sunrise Advocacy Session with David Merritt, Project Director for the Center for Health Transformation. He explored the hot-topic issue of personal health records and the business and political implications for CIOs.

Thursday’s general sessions began with the CHIME Awards Ceremony. CHIME Chair Ron Strachan presided over the ceremony, which included a special raffle drawing. The following awards were presented:

• The Innovator of the Year Award:
  Jack Kowitt, Senior VP & CIO at Parkland Health & Hospital Systems with Randy Blanchard, Parkland Health & Hospital Systems
  
  
• The Collaboration Award:
  Mike Ward, CIO at Covenant Health and McKesson
  
  
• The John Glaser Scholarships:
  Mona Baggett, VA Health Administration Center
  Kathleen Putler, Hennepin Country Medical Center
  
  
• The Healthcare CIO Boot Camp Minority Scholarship:
  John D. Brown, Pacific Alliance Medical Center
  
  
• The Women’s Healthcare CIO Boot Camp Scholarship:
  Janice Neal, Abrazo Healthcare/Vanguard Health Systems
  Peggy Romano, Sebasticook Valley Hospital
  
  
• CHIME-Health Forum Fellowships:
  Douglas Abel, Anne Arundel Health System
  Richard Frank, The Aroostook Medical Center
  Mark Halladay, Thompson Health
  John Schrenker, Lakeside Health System
  
  
• CHIME Edge Scholarships:
  Jim Crouch, Northwest Medical Center
  Angela Rathburn, Iroquois Memorial Hospital & Resident Home
  Jim Stewart, BehaviorCorp
  David Whitham, Dimock Community Health Center
  
  
• The CHIME Fellow Award:
  Gene Shaw, Yuma Regional Medical Center
  
  
• The CHIME Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award:
  Betsy Hersher, President, Hersher & Associates

A special raffle followed the awards ceremony. CHIME member Sue Schade was the winner of the High Def Heaven package of prizes (an HD TV, DVR, and Sony Playstation 3) sponsored by Cisco.

Following the awards ceremony, attendees had the opportunity to attend up to three peer-reviewed track sessions. There were four tracks to choose from: Strategy and Leadership, Organizational Performance Improvement, Business and Care Transformation, and the Most Wired Showcase.

On Thursday afternoon, attendees had the chance to stretch their legs and get some fresh air at various recreational activities. Nearly 120 attendees participated in the annual Fall CIO Forum Golf Tournament at the award-winning courses at La Cantera. Others enjoyed cave tours, a San Antonio Missions trail tour, or a skeet shooting excursion at the National Shooting Complex.

Attendees returned to the Westin on Thursday evening for a special dinner reception featuring armadillo races, gambling tables, and an airbrush tattoo artist. A great time was had by all!

Friday morning opened with another Sunrise Advocacy Session. This session featured Dave Roberts, Rice President of Government Relations for HIMSS. He provided some updates from Washington on the latest legislative and regulatory proposals, and how the end of the Bush administration will affect healthcare IT’s momentum on the hill.

Friday’s events continued with a mesmerizing presentation by best-selling writer and reporter Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell shared his unique perspectives on how we often arrive at the most accurate and best decisions by rapidly thin-slicing information that is instantly available to us. He illustrated his concepts using riveting, real-life examples, saying that more often than not, exhaustive research and having too much information are the enemies of good decision making.

The final Forum event was a presentation by author Randy Cohen. As he does in his popular weekly column in the New York Times magazine, Cohen explored ethical conundrums in a meaningful yet humorous way. He questioned the idea of individual character, saying that we most often take on the ethical characteristics of the groups we are most closely associated with, and shared how we can use this knowledge to actively create the kinds of communities that engender positive behavior.

The 2007 Fall CIO Forum concluded with our annual raffle prize drawing. Congratulations to the lucky winners:

Very special thanks again to Tim Stettheimer and the Fall Forum Planning Committee as well as the CHIME Foundation member firms; their support made this event possible. Thank you all for making this Forum one of the best ever!

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