CHIME19: Highlights for Those Who Missed It
11.20.2019
Cletis Earle, CHCIO, Chair, Foundation Board; SVP & CIO, Information Technology Kaleida Health
The 2019 CHIME Fall CIO Forum offered an opportunity to update members and Foundation firms about what CHIME and the CHIME Foundation achieved during the year, plus what’s ahead. For those who couldn’t attend in person, here is a recap.
Shafiq Rab, MD, chair of the CHIME Board of Trustees, provided an account of CHIME19 announcements and updates in this article. It describes how CHIME is growing in depth and breadth, with more educational programs launched this year and more being offered in 2020. Membership also is growing domestically and internationally. CHIME now has 10 international chapters, with Canada coming on board on Nov. 5.
As the CHIME Foundation Board chair, I had the chance to shine the spotlight on the Foundation’s accomplishments, too. Here are a few key points:
- The annual CHIME Partner Education Summit in Chicago was elevated this year with a site visit to Rush Medical Center, a whole new curriculum and more opportunities to interact and network.
- The Foundation’s credentialing program, the CHIME Foundation Certified Healthcare Executive (CFCHE), is gaining momentum. It is only two years old and already has certified 45 Foundation firm members.
- Foundation firms continue to make exceptional contributions to the industry, as shown by this year’s awards. Congratulations to First Health Advisory Solutions for winning the 2019 CHIME Foundation Partner Award, and to Cerner and Encompass Health’s Rusty Yeager for winning the 2019 CHIME Collaboration Award.
- Mac McMillan, founder and CEO emeritus at CynergisTek, became only the 14th person in CHIME’s 27-year history to receive the CHIME Foundation Industry Leader Award for his contributions as a healthcare cybersecurity pioneer. This is the highest honor CHIME gives to a Foundation firm partner. The recipient is invited to speak from the stage, and Mac used his opportunity to thank his family for their support and guidance. It was a wonderful and heart-felt speech.
The theme for CHIME19 was “Into the Future.” As I said during opening remarks on Tuesday, healthcare is shifting to give patients care when, where and how they want it. It is our future, and CIOs like me in provider settings have Foundation partners we can collaborate with to help us get there.
Speaking of the future, mark your calendars for CHIME’s next big event, the 2020 CHIME HIMSS CIO Forum. I will be held March 8-9 in Orlando, Fla. Stay tuned for more details.