Prior to joining CHIME, Russ Branzell was the VP of IS/CIO, Poudre Valley Health System (PVHS) and the President/CEO of Innovation Enterprises (PVHS’ for profit IS entity). PVHS is an integrated health system with a reputation for excellence and innovative care. They most recently are the recipients of the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest Presidential honor given to US businesses and organizations that demonstrate performance excellence, the Colorado Performance Excellence Peak Award (first and only organization in the state), Solucient’s 100 Top Hospitals, Health Grades Distinguished Hospital Award, Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence designation, Avatar International 5 Star National Award, and US News and World Report-America’s 50 Best Hospitals. In addition to these honors and awards, the Information Services Division was recognized with Information Week Magazine’s Top 500 Award for innovative technology usage and also received the Business Technology Optimization Excellence Award for IT Governance Best Practices (2004).Prior to joining PVHS, he was the Regional Deputy CIO and Executive Director of Information Services for Sisters of Mercy Health System in St. Louis, MO. Before his time in St. Louis, Mr. Branzell served on active duty in the US Air Force and continues to serve in the Air Force Reserves. While on active duty, Mr. Branzell served in numerous healthcare administration positions including CIO for the Air Mobility Command Surgeon General’s Office. In 1996, he was selected for the Air Force Medical Service Fellowship program and completed a CIO Internship at the Unity Health System in St. Louis, MO.Mr. Branzell is a past member of the CHIME Board of Directors (2004-2008), past Chairperson of the CHIME Education Committee (2004-2008), and past Program Director for CHIME’s Healthcare CIO Boot Camp (2006 – 2009). He was instrumental in the development and ongoing success of CHIME’s LEAD Forum and CHIME Foundation Boot Camp education programs, serving both as Program Director and as a member of faculty for both since their inception.In addition, he has served as Chairperson of CHIME’s Spring and Fall CIO Forum Planning Committees. Mr. Branzell currently serves on the CHIME Education Foundation Board.Mr. Branzell is a Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO), a fellow of CHIME and HIMSS, and board certified through the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He was awarded the 2005 ACHE Regent’s Award as the Young Healthcare Administrator of the Year for the State of Colorado. PVHS has received numerous industry awards in recognition of it’s commitment to the advancement of healthcare informatics.Russ serves on numerous editorial, volunteer, community and management boards. Additionally, he has been a speaker at regional, national, user groups and vendor conferences.A native of San Antonio, Texas, Russ earned an undergraduate degree in business administration specializing in human resource management and labor relations from the University of Texas. In 1995, he earned a Master’s degree in Administrative Science from Embry-Riddle University with an emphasis in management.

Keith Fraidenburg is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), a 1,400-plus member professional organization for healthcare information executives.

 

Mr. Fraidenburg has more than 20 years of experience working within the healthcare IT industry, including nearly 16 years of association management experience. In his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, he is responsible for providing overall leadership and tactical execution of the organization’s strategic plan while identifying and cultivating new growth opportunities in support of the organization’s long-term strategic goals. He also maintains primary responsibility for the organization’s advocacy and public policy efforts and its platform of education programs and services.

 

In doing so, he works closely with senior healthcare IT executives, key industry leaders, and industry association partners, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and others to keenly understand the issues, concerns, and needs of healthcare information executives.

In his previous role as Vice President of Education and Communications for CHIME, Mr. Fraidenburg was responsible for leading the education, marketing, and communications programs and services available through CHIME.

 

In addition to his responsibilities within CHIME, Mr. Fraidenburg is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and HIMSS.

 

He achieved his masters in business administration from Columbia College and degree in business administration from Central Michigan University.

Garrett Hall grew up in the Seattle area and is a Seattle sports fan through-and-through; to his disappointment most often. He earned a BA in English from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctorate from Case Western University School of Law. Garrett practiced business law and estate planning before joining KLAS where he is a Research Director on the professional services team.

 

Garrett's research is focused on implementation services and cybersecurity. In September 2016 he will be publishing a report measuring the performance of consulting firms doing specialty work on the Security Advisory.

 

Garrett and his wife, Rachel, live in Vineyard, Utah with their five children. Garrett enjoys golf, fly-fishing and reading.

Patty, Sr. Vice President and CIO for Gwinnett Health System is a leader in healthcare information technology with more than 25 years of experience in the industry.  She has served as Chief Information Officer for several regional health systems in Georgia and as an interim in New Jersey, developing each organization’s IT strategy and implementing operational improvements and technology-related regulatory compliance policies.   Her experience includes, but is not limited to, developing IT governance, implementing EMRs, relocating data centers, major system selections and implementations and long-range planning.

 

Patty has participated in the planning and development of both statewide and local health information exchanges, serving as Chair of both the Georgia Health Information Technology and Transparency Advisory Board and the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council’s IT Consortium.  She has maintained memberships and industry involvement in national organizations, such as VHA, HIMSS, ACHE and CHIME.  Patty holds an MBA from Florida State University, is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a CHIME Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer.

 

 

Rick is a healthcare IT Executive with over 25 years of experience in healthcare information systems, including positions as the CIO for US health systems, the Ontario, Canada health system, a medical research laboratory, independent consulting and as project manager for the development and implementation of the Department of Defense’s global medical information system.

 

Rick is currently the Chief Information and Technology Officer at the University of Virginia Health System, with responsibilities for Information Technology, Health Information Management and Clinical Engineering.

Rick was formerly the Vice President and CIO for Cancer Care Ontario, responsible for providing information technology and information management for the Province’s cancer, chronic kidney disease and access to care programs and services.

Rick was a Director at Navigant Consulting, a global professional services firm specializing in healthcare and litigation support, responsible for the healthcare IT practice. Rick was also Vice President for First Consulting Group, a healthcare IT focused firm active in helping its clients in provider, health plan, government and life sciences organizations achieve their goals through the use of information technology. He led the outsourcing business unit for FCG.

 

Rick previously was Vice President – IS and CIO for the Providence Health System, an organization which operates hospitals, a health plan, various physician practices, and manages numerous home health and long term care businesses across the western states of the US.

 

Rick was also a US Army officer, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, after leading the Army’s healthcare IT initiatives as a program manager as well as performing in different Army command and leadership roles.

 

Rick is an author and frequent speaker on healthcare information technology as well as a leader in Canadian and US national organizations such as Canada’s Health Informatics Executive Forum, the College for Healthcare Information Management Executives and the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. He was the recipient in 1994 of the Healthcare Information Executives Forum, Crystal Award for Excellence. Most recently, he received the HIMSS John Gall Award for Healthcare CIO of the Year at the 2002 HIMSS Conference.

 

 

Jeff is the Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) and Director of Information Services, Assurance and IT Security at Albany Medical Center, an academic health sciences center, in Albany, New York. Jeff is responsible for overseeing the medical center’s disaster recovery and business continuity efforts; program management office; information security program; and IT planning activities. As ISSO he is responsible for the implementation of policies and procedures to support the medical center’s regulatory compliance efforts. Prior to joining Albany Med, Jeff worked for the Hearst Corporation in a variety of technology and compliance roles. He holds a BA in English and Religious Studies from the University at Albany, State University of New York.