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Announcing ILHIMA and GCC HIMSS Advocacy Day - May 2, 2012

We are happy to announce the collaboration between GCCHIMSS and ILHIMA for the purpose of educating a wide audience on health information exchange activities that are occurring at the state-level.

ILHIMA and GCCHIMSS are partnering to bring you an outstanding educational session on the Illinois Health Information Exchange (HIE). Join us to learn how the Illinois HIE will assist health care providers in Illinois to utilize technology to share health information with the goal of lowering health care costs, increasing patient safety and quality and improving care coordination and population health.

The two organizations developed this inaugural event to learn more about what the State of Illinois has planned for using electronic health records to improve health and patient safety, an initiative built on a directive from Governor Pat Quinn in October 2011.

The goals of the ILHIMA and GCCHIMSS HIE Advocacy Day are to:

• Provide an understanding of the role of ILHIE and OHIT and how the use of technology will benefit consumers and providers;
• Discuss current HIE initiatives and legislative efforts with the public and providers;
• Provide resources to consumers, vendors and providers and answer any questions they have about HIE.

Health IT: What’s Next in Digital Health?
Thursday, April 26, 2012
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Tripp Lite World Headquarters
1111 W. 35th Street
Chicago, IL 60609 USA

Envisioning healthcare delivery of the future and the road ahead to get there
 

“What’s Next in Digital Health?” was the topic of the GCC HIMSS program on April 26, 2012 hosted by Tripp Lite, an evening punctuated by fireworks form the nearby White Sox game and sparks of debate between panelists and participants regarding healthcare providers’ ability to absorb the rate of change brought on by the possibilities of health IT innovation.

Kareem Saad, Dell’s Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences, and responsible for managing the relationships between Dell’s clients and solution partners serving providers, payers, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, presented an exciting view of technology-enabled breakthroughs in healthcare delivery. His presentation identified key issues to be on today’s healthcare CIO’s radar, such as “big data” analytics, cloud computing, and personalized medicine, and asserted that the future is already here, but in pockets rather than widespread use.

Steve Lieber, President of HIMSS since 2000, reflected on the rapid pace of change in health IT over the past decade and particularly in the last 5 years, sped by the incentives and looming penalties of health reform legislation related to meaningful use and value based purchasing reimbursement changes.

The audience – representing a broad spectrum of interests including providers, payers, pharma, and IT solutions and just shy of 100 GCC HIMSS members - responded with a lively debate about the degree to which healthcare is dependent on political versus market and technological factors to accelerate adoption of key digital health innovations. The evening ended with an introduction of the current GCC HIMSS Board and an encouragement for chapter members to run for the open positions in the 2012-13 Board elections to be held next month. Nomination forms are available from the GCC HIMSS website and are due by May 21.

To view the presentations from the event, please click here.

GCC-HIMSS 2012 – 2013 Board Elections

Nominations are open for the GCC-HIMSS board elections for the 2012-2013 year! There are 14 board positions up for election this year. This year’s open positions are:

• President-Elect (1 year term)
• Educational Programs Co-Chair (2 year term)
• Educational Programs Co-Chair (2 year term)
• Communications Co-Chair (2 year term)
• Professional Development Chair (2 year term)
• Sponsorship Chair (2 year term)
• Student Liaison (1 year term)
• Member at-Large – Communications (1 year term)
• Member-at-Large – Educational Programs/Professional Development (1 year term)
• Member at-Large – Sponsorship (1 year term)
• Member-at-Large – Clinical/Nursing Informatics (1 year term)
• Member at-Large – Membership (1 year term)
• Member at-Large – HIE Advocacy/Liaison (1 year term)
• Member-at-Large – Midwest Fall Technology Conference (1 year term)

Election Schedule

Nominations Open - April 11
Nominations Close - May 4 (5:00 PM)
Voting Opens - May 21
Voting Closes - June 1 (5:00 PM)
Election Results Published - June 4

Eligibility

Members who are elected to the Board must be active, dues-paid members of National HIMSS who have completed one (1) year of membership. All candidates must also be GCC-HIMSS members. Nominees for President-Elect must have held a position on the GCC-HIMSS Board in at least one of the immediately three (3) prior years. Candidates for Student Liaison must be a student currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program.

Term of Office

The tenure of elected Officers shall commence July 1 through June 30.  President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President are each one-year terms that are served consecutively. The term of President is effectively 3 years with one year in each position. A President-Elect will be elected each year. Member-at-Large positions will be elected each year for one-year terms.   All other officers’ terms shall be two years. All officers, except President, may serve in the same position for two (2) consecutive terms.

Nominations are currently closed. Voting will open on May 21. If you have any questions regarding the election process, feel free to contact either Susan Wozniak or Lynn Ferino.  Thank you!

Position Descriptions

President-elect:  The President-elect assists the President in conducting the business affairs and activities of the chapter through special assignments and duties delegated at the direction of the President and/or the Board. He/she acts in the President’s absence in chapter relationships with other related professional societies. The President-elect assumes the office of the President upon conclusion of the one-year term as President-Elect.

Educational Programs Co-Chair:  Plans and implements the Chapter’s educational activities.  The Education Program Chair shall chair the Education Committee and propose a plan for the coming year’s programs and other educational activities.

Communications Co-Chair: Responsible for the preparation and distribution of all Chapter publications, including a Chapter newsletter that shall be published on at least a quarterly basis.  Maintains the content of the Chapter website, communicating Chapter business to other individuals and groups, and promotes the Chapter in professional journals and with other professional groups.

Professional Development Chair:  The Professional Development Chair shall be responsible for activities related to promoting the chapter’s scholarships to prospective students and for leading the evaluation team to review and score the scholarship applications.  The Professional Development Chair shall also be responsible for obtaining approval from the appropriate accrediting body for continuing education credits for all Chapter programs. In addition, a library that is accessible to members will be maintained to help members obtain their CPHIMS certification and Fellowship Status.

Sponsorship Chair:  The Sponsorship Chair shall be responsible for managing the Chapter’s Sponsorship Program, including soliciting sponsors supportive of the Chapter’s mission and ensuring that sponsorship dollars are used to meet the Chapter’s goals and objectives. The Sponsorship Chair shall also work closely with the sponsors to ensure that the chapter is meeting their expectations as a sponsor.

Student Liaison:  The Student Liaison shall be responsible for working with universities and colleges to promote the benefits of HIMSS membership to students. The Student Liaison shall be a student who is currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program. The Student Liaison term of office is one year.

Member At Large – Communications:  Works with the Communication Co-Chairs and Communications committee on newsletters, promoting GCC-HIMSS events and other GCC-HIMSS Communications services to our members.

Member At Large – Education Program/Professional Development: Works with both the Educational Program Co-Chairs and the Professional Development Chair on chapter related education and professional development services.

Member At Large – Sponsorship:  Works with the Sponsorship chair in managing the Chapter’s Sponsorship Program, including soliciting sponsors supportive of the Chapter’s mission and ensuring that sponsorship dollars are used to meet the Chapter’s goals and objectives.

Member At Large – Clinical/Nursing Informatics:  Works as a liaison to outreach to Clinical and Nursing informatics groups in HIMSS as well as other groups to identify and develop educational offerings for our members.

Member At Large – Membership:  Works with the President-elect to communicate and strengthen ties with our members. Activities may include but are not limited to surveys, chapter membership applications and outreach to other HIT groups.

Member At Large – HIE/Advocacy Liaison: Attends monthly HIMSS HIE and Advocacy Liaison roundtable calls and report back to the board. The HIE/Advocacy Liaison will prepare articles for the chapter newsletter on HIE and Advocacy activities in Illinois and nationally.

Member At Large – Midwest Fall Technology Conference: Acts at the GCC-HIMSS board representative on the planning committee for the Midwest Fall Technology Conference. Attends scheduled planning meetings and makes regular reports to the board. Works with the Educational Programs Chairs.