CIOs of hospitals and health plans have been challenged during this pandemic to deploy and manage remote workforces, implement and enhance telemedicine platforms, leverage an increased digital footprint to accommodate and monitor patients and keep clinicians safe, (Example: tablets inpatient rooms), set up the pop up COVID-19 testing units, reevaluate and revise data governance structures to adapt to COVID-19 and utilize data analytics to provide real-time data to better serve clinicians and patients. And to accomplish all this while having a reduced census and no elective services and surgeries, which equates to more work with less capital.

This esteemed CIO panel will discuss the current pandemic state challenges and discuss how they are resolving these and other issues facing their organizations. Join NEHIMSS and these CIOs to learn more about how they are navigating this complex new world and find out how their approaches may help your organization.

Speakers:

Kara Backman

Chief Information Officer

McLean Hospital

Bio:

Kara Backman serves as Chief Information Officer for McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA. McLean Hospital is a leader in psychiatric care, research, and education and is the largest psychiatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Kara has over 15 years of experience working in healthcare information systems and program management. She has focused on leading the design, development, and delivery of high-performance technology solutions to meet challenging business demands. Ms. Backman has extensive experience in all facets of IT project Lifecycle development, from feasibility analysis through implementation. Prior to joining McLean Kara held leadership positions at Partners Healthcare in Information Systems and Partner eCare.

In her current role, Kara oversees all aspects of information technology for the hospital. Since joining Mclean Hospital in 2018 Kara has strategically planned and led many successful implementations including two Epic upgrades, a Windows 10 upgrade, network security controls and multiple Epic optimizations to improve patient care. Ms. Backman also has implemented telehealth across all levels of care and had to deploy a more robust telehealth platform during the recent pandemic. She holds a BS Degree in Business Management from Keene State College. She is an active mentor with America Corporate Partners, a member of New England Health Information and Management Systems Society CIO Council where she is an educational speaker for events and webinars. Ms. Backman is also a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

Gerald Greeley

Chief Information Officer

Signature Healthcare

Bio:

Gerald Greeley is the Chief Information Officer for Signature Healthcare in Brockton, MA, a regional community health system located south of Boston. The organization includes the Signature Medical Group, the multi-specialty practice of 150 providers, and Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, a 250-bed community hospital. He also serves in the Privacy and Information Security Officer roles for Signature Healthcare.

Gerald earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Stonehill College and a Master of Health Administration from Simmons University. He is a Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer (CHCIO) and a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

Gerald has over 30 years of experience working in healthcare information systems and operations management. He has focused on maximizing the use of information technology to improve how providers care for patients to help reduce caregiver administrative burdens while improving patient outcomes. Prior to joining Signature Gerald held several leadership positions in both IT and operations management. In his current role, he oversees all aspects of IT and is leading a major organizational transformation to upgrade and replace technology and software across the health system to provide a solid platform as Signature moves into a value-based care business model. The goal is to provide tools and data to improve the health status of the communities served by Signature Healthcare.

Arthur W. Harvey III, MS, CPHIMS

Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Boston Medical Center Health System

Bio:

Arthur W. Harvey III, MS, CPHIMS has 30 years of experience in the healthcare informatics field with a particular focus on building high performing HIT teams at provider organizations. He currently serves as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Boston Medical Center Health System overseeing overall IT strategy for both Boston Medical Center and the Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan. Arthur holds a BA from Boston College in Economics and Computer Science as well as an MS in Information Technology Management from Brandeis University. He is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information Management Systems and serves as the chair of the CIO Council for the New England Chapter of HIMSS.

Joel Vengco

Senior Vice President of Informatics & Technology and the Chief Information Officer

Baystate Health

Chief Information Officer & Senior Vice President, Informatics and Technology

Pioneer Valley Accountable Care Organization

Bio:

Mr. Vengco is the Senior Vice President of Informatics & Technology and the Chief Information Officer at Baystate Health, the largest integrated healthcare delivery system in western Massachusetts. He is also the CIO for the Pioneer Valley Accountable Care Organization. He is a co-founder and architect of the Pioneer Valley Information Exchange (PVIX), western Massachusetts’s regional health information exchange. In 2014 he founded TechSpring, Baystate Health’s technology innovation center, which serves as a living lab for technology innovators, vendor partners, and startups who are attempting to solve healthcare’s passionate problems with transformative solutions. In 2018, Mr. Vengco founded BayTechIT, Baystate Health’s IT managed services provider, which serves small provider practices to medium-sized organizations with IT operations services.

Prior to Baystate, Mr. Vengco held various leadership positions including Vice President and General Manager at GE Healthcare and Chief Applications Officer at Boston Medical Center.Mr. Vengco is a frequent lecturer at Boston University as well as conferences across the country as an expert in informatics and technology. He holds an undergraduate degree from Boston College and Masters degrees from Harvard University and Boston University School of Medicine.