A Tale of Two Docs

Mother and Daughter Disabled Navy Veterans Navigate the Waters Together

 Indianapolis, IN 30 Apr 2015: Chief Petty Officer (Ret.) Jennifer Fields and former Petty Officer Alisha Jefferson is a mother-daughter Sailor duo whom was awarded a registration sponsorship to the HIMSS 15 Conference this year. It was held in Chicago, IL from April 12-16 and is the largest event in the Health IT (HIT) industry. The HIMSS Veterans Career Service (VCS), managed by Amy Justice, was responsible for funding the registrations as part of an effort to familiarize veterans from around the nation with the HIT industry and how to gain employment in the field. Former Petty Officer Jefferson was also awarded air transportation, lodging and a $350.00 AMEX gift card from the Indiana HIMSS chapter, for which Suzy Vaughn is the president. In addition to providing career enhancement sessions at the conference, VCS coordinated an eight-hour boot camp in which industry leaders and hiring professionals shared information on keys to success in HIT. Presentations also included the need to create Health IT veteran programs throughout the country. One such highlighted initiative was the Chicago-based En-Abled Vet program, founded by LT CoL (Ret.) Jaime Parent. Fields and Jefferson were selected to receive conference sponsorship because they are both veterans interested in the HIT field. In addition to being disabled Navy veterans, these Hamilton, Ohio natives also served as Hospital Corpsmen (aka Docs), having both graduated from Naval Hospital Corps School Great Lakes, IL. Therefore, Health IT is yet another interest they are embarking upon together. Fields is now employed as an Epic EMR Credentialed Trainer with Community Health and Jefferson currently has her sights on an Epic Surgery Scheduler position at Community Health Network. Both express gratitude to those whom have assisted them in this journey and are making preparations to pay it forward. They are preparing to launch an initiative geared toward assisting women veterans to gain entry into the Health IT field, an industry where women represent less than 30% of the workforce. Thus, it appears that this mother-daughter team will continue to navigate the same waters and add more interesting chapters to their story.