The 2012 award season has just ended and one of the highest honors to be bestowed upon an executive in healthcare IT is the award named in honor of John E. Gall Jr., who pioneered the implementation of healthcare information systems at El Camino Hospital in the 1960s. The Board of Directors of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the Board of Directors of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annually selects the recipient of the John E. Gall, Jr. award for the “CIO of the Year” jointly. The award is presented to the CIO, who, in the opinion of the joint Boards of Directors, has best demonstrated the following qualities of leadership in Healthcare.
This year’s winner is Jim Turnbull, DHA, FCHIME, FHIMSS, CIO at University of Utah Health Care (UUHC). He has been recognized for his significant contributions and demonstrated innovative leadership through effective use of technology. During his 37-year tenure in the industry, Turnbull had led the deployment of EMRs and installation of CPOE at three different health systems with three different vendor products. Prior to joining UUHC in 2008, he held CIO posts at The Children’s Hospital in Denver from 2000-2007 and at Sarasota Memorial Hospital from 1993-2000. Under his leadership, The Children’s Hospital in Denver was recognized for its advancement of EMRs by KLAS as the Most Integrated Children’s Hospital in 2007. Turnbull will receive the award at the 2013 Annual HIMSS Conference in New Orleans on March 5, 2013.
Additionally, Jim is an eExecutive mentor and has given his time through this HIMSS Career Services social media exchange to coach and mentor our HIMSS members about career pearls of wisdom and perils he has experienced in his lustrous career thus far.
The HIMSS Awards Banquet is a time for celebration and for recognizing members who have added their unique sparkle to the industry. Those in attendance to receive awards will include Jim Turnbull, but also lifetime achievement, scholarship program winners, chapter advocacy activities and publication winners just to name a few. HIMSS honors these individuals, groups and organizations for their significant contributions to the Society, their organizations or to the health IT profession. So, consider joining the festivities at this year's elegant HIMSS Awards banquet event!
And remember...Be passionate about your career path and strive to make a difference and learn, learn…learn. Technology is only the enabler; individuals will be the “transformers” of health IT in the years to come!
