A Tale of Two HIMSS Chapters Events
In the last month, I had the opportunity to attend two powerful HIMSS chapter events — first with Texas HIMSS and then with Northern Ohio HIMSS. It was my first time attending a different chapter outside of my region of Ohio, and I came back energized and informed (and maybe and a bit frustrated with the policy sessions on Medicaid funding, too).
Here are a few of my highlights from both events. Did you attend your local HIMSS chapter event? What were your biggest takeaways (besides AI 😆).
TEXAS HIMSS | Big Ideas and Bold Futures
Attending the Texas Regionals Chapter event was a first for me — and it was so fun to experience a different chapter event! It was great to meet new people like Aaron Solomon and the Keepit team, and connect with virtual friends in real life (Brittany Royal-Killam, I think that was the first time we met IRL!?). It was good seeing a fellow #Swaay member, Erica Olenski, BCPA, FACHDM🎗️✨ - loved catching up on the patient advocacy work she does. I also enjoyed spending time ‘behind the scenes’ with Mike Mosquito, CHCIO, MBA, PMP, CDH-E and Maureen Nylin MSN, RN, CHCIO, PMP, CDH-L capturing video content with top thought leaders. Panda Health, now part of AVIA is a media partner of THE BUZZ PODCAST and it's great to amplify what we're doing together!
Hal Wolf's Keynote: Hal’s keynote kicked off with a powerful metaphor: "The electric light didn’t come from improving candles." The message? We can’t solve the challenges facing healthcare with incremental improvements — especially when systems are under pressure from Medicaid reductions and capacity shortfalls. AI, he argued, isn’t just a tool. It’s a necessity. With over 300,000 peer-reviewed articles published last year, no clinician can keep up alone — LLMs are now essential clinical partners. He ended with a global lens, noting that countries from Malaysia to South Korea are facing the same questions around AI and workforce transformation, and we can all do better together.
Texas Healthcare Policy Deep Dive: I also sat in on a breakout about Texas state healthcare legislation — and wow, I learned more about policy-making in this hour-long session than I thought possible. As someone who loves understanding the "why" behind the system, it was fascinating to see how state-level decisions around scope of practice, AI adoption, and Medicaid policy ripple down to impact clinical operations. Complex, yes. But I’d attend this session again in a heartbeat. Did you know they use actual pieces of red and green paper to determine what comes to a vote?! 🤯
Fun in Texas ... their chapter event is certainly "BIGGER" than what I'm used to!
OHIO HIMSS | Real Talk from the Front Lines of Healthcare IT
I always love attending the Northern Ohio Chapter of HIMSS Conferences. Catching up with TJ Murphy and Beth Alvord former colleagues who cover this area, is always nice, and it’s fun to hear when Beth tells me my name is still on marketing boxes at Hyland! 😄 And, an added bonus seeing Lyle McMillin Jordan De Leon, and Sam Rantucci. And of course NO HIMSS Board members - Christina Lepri, RDCS, CDH-P, Anthony Caponi, Jennifer Owens (I owe you an email!), Lawrence Voyten and all the other great folks behind these events.
I definitely took a new Hyland flair pen in purple to match their new brand!
CIO Panel Highlight: CIO = Chief Integration Officer The CIO panel, featuring leaders from Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, Pro Health, Summa, and Akron Children's, dug into what disruption really means right now — from AI to cybersecurity to workforce transformation.
Sarah Hatchett reframed the role of the CIO as a Chief Integration Officer — not just managing information, but weaving together strategy, initiatives, and long-term goals across departments. It’s no longer about ticket-taking or reacting; it’s about connecting the dots between clinical, operational, and digital transformation.
"Integration" implies forward momentum — it’s not just storing or managing data, it’s aligning technology investments (like ambient scribe tech... surprise, this was a BIG topic!) with organizational strategy and mission. When IT thinks like integrators, not just informers, stakeholder trust is earned and it also creates a create lasting impact.
CIOs from the region's hospitals
AI Panel Highlight: The AI panel was equally compelling. Beyond the expected buzzwords, we heard honest stories about ambient tech, burnout, pajama time, and even provider retention. One clinician shared that ambient AI literally saved their marriage (!!) and gave them a reason to stay in practice. While ROI is still hard to quantify, the emotional impact on clinicians was crystal clear — and in a system struggling to retain talent, that’s ROI in its own right.
Two states, two chapters, and a whole lot of learning. I’m so glad I stepped outside my regional comfort zone — both events gave me new insight into what’s happening across the country and reminded me why I love working in this space.