Frankfort Regional Medical Center has been serving the citizens of central Kentucky for nearly 40 years. The 175-bed acute care facility goes about its business of putting patients first while keeping up with the latest technological advances.

For example, patients arriving at the emergency department can "pre-register" at self-service kiosks that feed electronic medical records to reduce the time it takes for doctors to help patients.

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That's one of the recent projects implemented by IT director Craig Willard's 12-person staff. They're also deeply engaged in EHR meaningful use support and secure messaging initiatives, to name a few.

It takes a certain type of person to excel in such an environment. "Technical people are wired a bit differently," said Willard. "Their main motivator is to get to a greater good, so we strive to give them the freedom to get their job done, without the powers above micro-managing them. That allows them to become professionals, to master their skills."

At the same time, within the high-pressure world of health IT, it helps to have a team focus. "We do a lot of extracurricular things to keep us together," he added. "Any time you can at least calm the stress, people can more easily tap into their creativity."

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