GIC HIMSS Mid-Year President Report
On behalf of the GIC HIMSS Board of Directors, I would like to personally wish you a happy, healthy, and safe 2021! In reflecting over the last six months, I am so proud of our Chapters accomplishments and appreciative of the board's hard work. The barriers and obstacles we faced due to the Covid 19 Pandemic provided challenges; however, we worked together, transforming quickly to modify the strategic plan, operating in a completely different way. I want to take the opportunity to thank you, our members, for attending our virtual programs and providing feedback. We are very aware of how inundated everyone is with virtual programs and honestly believe that we differentiated ourselves.
GIC HIMSS stays strong with over 3,100 members, one of the top 3 largest HIMSS chapters, and remains fiscally sound. We are thankful for the continued support from 17 Organizational Affiliates that provide complimentary membership to their employees. We welcome back Comcast as a Founder Sponsor and look forward to developing relationships with our newest sponsor, Trinisys. I am proud of our collaboration with like-minded organizations, including the Wisconsin and Minnesota HIMSS Chapters, the American Nursing Informatics Association, Chicago Health Executives Forum, First Illinois Healthcare Financial Management Association, and the National Association of Health Service Executives.
The board is pleased to partner with Minds Matter Chicago as our Charity Golf Partner and the Boulevard of Chicago for the Holiday Charity Event. Together with, collaborating partners, we raised over $4,000 in contributions in our recent Annual Holiday Charity Event for the Boulevard.
The new Fiscal Year kicked off July with our first Annual Live Virtual Business Meeting, where we recruited a host of new volunteers. We held 5 educational virtual programs, all with continuing HIMSS education credits. In the spirit of the National HIMSS Mission's to reform the global health ecosystem through the power of information and technology, we held innovative and current programming focusing on the Pandemic.
In July and collaborating with the Wisconsin HIMSS Chapter and local Illinois healthcare organizations, a round table discussion related to progress, direction, and recovery efforts towards normalization in the Covid 19 Pandemic, was held. A second program held in July included Telehealth Experts who discussed the current and the future state of Telehealth in the Covid 19 era and the impacts and disruption in the healthcare market.
In September, GIC HIMSS was awarded the Ambassador Level Award for Advocacy, recognizing our efforts in advancing health information and technology issues through legislative activity. The GIC HIMSS advocacy committee supported HIMSS Global Health Equity Week by holding a kick-off program discussing essentials to advocating Health I.T. legislative and promoting Protecting Access to Post-Covid 19 Telehealth Act of 2020 ( H.R 7663) in October.
The Programs committee launched a novel mental health three-session mini-series in October. Experts in the field discussed the impact of Covid 19 on Psychiatric Telehealth and self-care during a pandemic. Attendees learned through virtual activities and mental exercises how to navigate their self-care during a pandemic. Behavioral health experts helped us learn about resilience, practicing compassion during a time of social distancing, loss, and isolation.
To kick off the New Year, we have good news and are pleased to announce our scholarship program's recipients, Kaela Reed, DePaul University, and Karolyn Stahl, Western Governors University. The board has some exciting programs planned for the coming year, as we further explore topics related to Artificial Intelligence. Plans also include a Woman in Healthcare I.T. event and a Professional Development program.
This month, we are pleased to announce a new membership survey. Please complete the membership survey to ensure that we continue to provide events and educational topics relevant to you. Your feedback is so essential and helps inform our decisions for planning and communication!
We are hopeful and encouraged for the upcoming year and look forward to resuming in-person events. Also, we Hope to see you at the HIMSS International Conference on August 9–13, 2021, in Las Vegas.
Best,
Lisa M. Janeway DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS
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Join Carolyn V. Metnick as she presents an overview of 2019 HHS Office for Civil Rights HIPAA guidance and enforcement activity. Gain insight on what may be on the HIPAA horizon in 2020 and how covered entities and business associates can help further their compliance efforts.
Listen in to when our committee member, Uday Dhulipala spoke with Paddy Padmanabhan about artificial intelligence in healthcare. Paddy is GIC HIMSS board member, CEO of Damo Consulting, and author of the book, The Big Unlock: Harnessing Data and Growing Digital Health Businesses in a Value-Based Care Era.
Learn more about the Greater IL Chapter of HIMSS and how your membership makes a difference locally and nationally:
