Electronic Health Reporter

Sue Schade, FCHIME, FHIMSS, has been selected as the recipient of the 2014 John E. Gall, Jr. CIO of the Year Award. Schade is Chief Information Officer at University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in Ann Arbor, one of the largest and most-recognized academic health systems in the country.

The award, sponsored by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and HIMSS, recognizes healthcare IT executives who have made significant contributions to their organization and demonstrated innovative leadership through effective use of technology. The boards of directors for both organizations annually select the recipient of the award, which is named in honor of the late John E. Gall Jr., who pioneered implementation of the first fully integrated medical information system in the world at California’s El Camino Hospital in the 1960s. Schade will receive the award on April 14, 2015 at the 2015 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

“I am very honored to receive this award,” said Schade. “I am passionate about my work in healthcare and IT. With talented and dedicated IT teams over the years, we’ve been able to make a positive difference in the lives of so many people. I’m happy to be able to give back, both personally and professionally through organizations like CHIME and HIMSS where we are developing the next generation of HIT leaders.”

Schade’s distinguished career in the healthcare IT industry spans 30 years, 15 of which have been spent as a CIO. She joined University of Michigan Health System in November 2012 to oversee the launch of its new electronic health record system. Prior to joining U-M Health System, Schade spent 12 years as CIO at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of Partners HealthCare and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Under her leadership, Brigham received national recognition for its Balanced Scorecard initiative – a widely adopted best practice by provider organizations around the country. Schade previously served leadership roles with organizations including Advocate Healthcare in Chicago and Ernst and Young.

“Sue is truly one the great and influential forces in health IT,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO. “Her vision and passion for healthcare transformation have made an enduring impact on our industry, and she continues to serve as a vital and credible source of knowledge and inspiration to her peers. It is with great pleasure that we are able to recognize her many career accomplishments, and honor her leadership, dedication and contribution to the field.”

Schade has been a CHIME member since 2000. She is a CHIME Fellow and served on the CHIME Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2006 and chaired the CHIME Education Foundation Board from 2006 to 2009. Schade is a current member of the CHIME Policy Steering Committee. Additionally, she is a current member of the Michigan Hospital Association Health IT Strategy Committee and current board and executive committee member of the Great Lakes Health Connect (HIE). Schade is also the first CIO to serve on the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Board of Directors.

A HIMSS Fellow and member of the organization since 2005, Schade served on the HIMSS Advocacy and Public Policy Steering Committee from 2009-2011. She also received the New England Chapter of HIMSS CIO of the Year Award in 2011.

With her leadership, the U-M Health System reached, in August 2014, Stage 6 on the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM)™, an eight-step process for organizations to analyze their progress on EMR adoption, chart their accomplishments and track their progress against other healthcare organizations. In addition, during her tenure at Brigham, the hospital system also achieved Stage 6 on the EMRAM scale.

“An outstanding leader in healthcare and IT, Sue Schade has contributed her time and talent to HIMSS and the HIMSS New England chapter. Sue’s ongoing leadership as a CIO, her willingness to give back to the healthcare community, and her commitment to act upon her own values in improving health with IT illustrate why she has been recognized,” said Carla Smith, MA, CNM, FHIMSS, Executive Vice President, HIMSS.

Schade has been nationally recognized by both CIO and Computerworld magazine as one of the “Top 100 IT Leaders” in 2008 and 2010. She was also named one of the “10 CIOs You Should Follow on Twitter Today” in 2014 by FierceCIO, a “Top 10 Women Powerhouses in Health IT” by Healthcare IT News in 2013, and among one of the “8 Influential Women in Health IT” by FierceHealthIT in 2012.In 2014, Schade launched “Health IT Connect,” an enlightening leadership blog dedicated to sharing lessons learned and developing the next generation of health IT leaders.

“Sue is a consummate professional who brings innovation, creativity and strategic vision to our information technology and data management requirements, in support of a complex patient-care enterprise,” said T. Anthony Denton, acting CEO and Chief Operating Officer of U-M Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. “She is a talented leader of various teams dedicated to effective management of organizational priorities and providing excellent and responsive service.   This honor is well deserved and a tribute to Sue’s career commitment to being an outstanding leader.”

“In every respect, Sue personifies the ideals for which this award was created and the legacy of the man for whom it is named,” said Andrew Rosenberg M.D., Chief Medical Information Officer at U-M Health System. “Sue has been instrumental in the reorganization of our information services and has helped to re-shape the two largest state HIE organizations into a cohesive single entity – a task that requires the experience, gravitas and leadership skills gained over the course of her remarkable career.”

Schade holds an MBA degree from Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle, Ill.

About CHIME

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 1,400 CIO members and over 140 healthcare IT vendors and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.chimecentral.org.