5:30 - 6:15pm - Networking

6:15 - 6:30pm - Welcome & Announcements

6:30 - 7:30pm - Program

7:30 - 9:30pm - Networking

Location: LMI Building, 7940 Jones Branch Dr. Tysons, VA 22102

Join us for the March HIMSS NCA educational event, and hear a panel discussion on Lowering the Cost, and Improving the Outcomes of Global, National, and Local Healthcare. This panel will include speakers who understand the global healthcare challenges and focus areas, the national healthcare payment methods and outcomes research, and the local DC-specific viewpoints of providing and funding patient care. Please come early to network and chat with our dynamic speakers, and be sure to bring your questions!

Speakers:

Dr. Susan Kirsh, Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN) 

Susan R. Kirsh, MD, MPH is currently serving as the Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN).

Dr. Kirsh served in numerous roles during her 24-year career with the Veterans Health Administration. She practiced as an internist for many years at the Cleveland VAMC and has led initiatives in VA Central Office in the Primary Care Program Office with Patient Centered Medical Home and Shared Medical Appointments and in Specialty Care nationally implementing e-Consults, SCAN-ECHO, Specialty Care Neighborhoods, and Mini-Residencies. Since March 2015, Dr. Kirsh led access to care efforts such as implementation of the practice management program for outpatient care across VA, same day services, and direct scheduling for specialty care. In 2018, Dr. Kirsh became the Acting Executive Director for Access and led enterprise-wide efforts to improve access to care through telehealth and Clinical Contact Centers Modernization.

Dr. Kirsh received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio and Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Kirsh is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine and received a Master of Public Health from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Society of General Internal Medicine, Medical Group Management Association, and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Kirsh was a Faculty Scholar in the VA Quality Scholar Program in 2008 and holds a Professor of Medicine appointment at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and an Assistant Professor position at the Georgetown University School of Nursing.

Ms. Andrea Fletcher, Executive Director of the Digital Service at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (INVITED)

Andrea Fletcher serves as the Executive Director of the DIGITAL SERVICE AT THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES. In this role she is responsible for leading digital modernization efforts at CMS, which promote interoperability and public access to health data.

Prior to her digital service role, Andrea spent most of the last 10 years traveling around the world, building digital health systems across 20+ countries, primarily working in subSaharan Africa. She has built mobile apps for healthcare workers, integrated biometric IDs into electronic health record systems, designed national-level interoperability layers, and deployed new disease surveillance systems making contributions to pandemic responses in Ebola, HIV, and COVID-19.

Andrea holds a B.A. in Bioethics from Washington and Jefferson College, and a Masters of Public Health (MPH) from Emory University, and is currently a part-time PhD student at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Epidemiology and Population Health.

Ms. Evelyn Gallego, MBA, MPH, CPHIMS, Chief Executive Officer & Founder at EMI Advisors, Co-Founder of the Gravity Project

Evelyn Gallego, MBA, MPH, CPHIMS, is the CEO and Founder of EMI Advisors LLC, an 8(a) certified Economically and Socially Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business. EMI was started to further Evelyn’s mission of delivering value-driven health data management advisory services to her government and commercial clients. Evelyn is a trusted advisor in helping her clients bridge the gap between health information technology policy and standards and business requirements. 

Ms. Gallego provides specialized expertise in digital health interoperability and health policy with a focus on the alignment of regulatory, technical, and process improvement requirements to enable the effective adoption and use of technology. She is a thought leader in the areas of care coordination, social determinants of health (SDOH), health IT policy analysis and development, health information exchange and interoperability, and health IT standards development. 

Ms. Gallego is the co-founder of the Gravity Project, which develops nationally recognized consensus-based data standards for social care integration, and currently serves as the Program Director for leading interoperability and workforce development projects across the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Ms. Gallego is an active HIMSS member and currently serves on the HIMSS SDOH Committee and IHE USA Board. Previously, she served on the HIMSS NCA Board, HIMSS Interoperability & HIE Committee, and the HIMSS LTPAC Committee.      
 

Moderator:

Dr. Norvell V. Coots, President and CEO, Holy Cross Health & Maryland Region of Trinity Health

Dr. Norvell V. Coots serves as the President and CEO of Holy Cross Health and the Maryland Region of Trinity Health. As Such he is responsible for two hospitals, 8 clinics, and a new Comprehensive Cancer Center, all located in Montgomery County, Maryland. He is the Chairman of the Board of Maryland Physicians Care, the Chairman of the Board of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Hospital and serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Maryland Hospital Association. During the pandemic he also served as a member of the Governor of Maryland’s Covid19 Task Force.

In 2016 he retired from the United States Army as a Brigadier General. His final assignment was as the Commanding General of Regional Health Command Europe, and as the Command Surgeon for the US Army Europe and 7th Army. His previous assignments have included Deputy Commanding General of the US Army Medical Command, the Assistant Surgeon General of the Army, and as the Surgeon General for the US Forces in Afghanistan. From 2008- 2011, he served as the final Commander of the historic Walter Reed Healthcare System and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, DC.

He is a Dermatologist, holds a masters degree in Strategy from the Army War College, and a Certificate in Advanced Healthcare Management. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and has numerous civilian and military awards and honors. Most notable are the Scroll of Merit of the National Medical Association and the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal. His special honors include Knight of the Legion of Honor of France, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great (Military Division), Companion of the Moldovan Orders Caritas and Renestera, the Order of Military Medical Merit, and the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton award for Leadership and Faith.

He is married to the former Claudia Gomez and together they have two teenagers, Max and Catalina, two dogs, Duke and Snowflake, and a horse named DJ Wyatt. He is also a member of the American Academy of Dermatology’s Leadership Circle on Volunteerism.