ANN ARBOR, Mich. and CHICAGO (January 4, 2011) – As joint sponsors of this annual award honoring a CIO for lifetime achievement, CHIME and HIMSS proudly recognize Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS, as the recipient of the 2010 John E. Gall Jr. CIO of the Year Award. Christian is Chief Information Officer at Good Samaritan Hospital, a 102-year-old, free-standing acute care community hospital in Vincennes, Ind. He will receive the award at the 2011 Annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Fla. on February 22, 2011.
“I’m very humbled to be mentioned with the industry leaders who have received the John E. Gall Award over the years,” said Christian. “I’ve had the privilege of working with and learning from a large group of outstanding professionals.”
The award recognizes healthcare IT executives who have made significant contributions to their organization and demonstrated innovative leadership through effective use of technology. The award 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.
Christian is now in his 22nd year as CIO at Good Samaritan and his 40th year in healthcare. In his CIO role, he is responsible for all information technology activities throughout the enterprise located in southwest Indiana.
Christian is a Fellow of both CHIME and HIMSS and formerly served on the CHIME Board of Trustees and is a Past-Chair of the HIMSS Board of Directors. Christian is currently serving on the Indiana Health Informatics Corporation Board of Directors by appointment of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. In 2010, he was presented with the CHIME Collaboration Award for his work with Kirby Partners, Inc. on the creation of Make IT Known: Marketing Strategies and Case Studies in the Healthcare Environment, a reference guide to help senior healthcare IT management promote their IT departments to help their hospitals thrive. Currently, he serves as a CHIME StateNet Coordinator for the State of Indiana and is the Vice-Chair of the CHIME Policy Steering Committee.
Good Samaritan Hospital received the McKesson VIP Award in 2004; identified as a Solucient Top 100 Hospital – Quality Improvement Leader in 2005; listed as Most Wired (small and rural) in 2004 and 2005; a 2006 recipient of the VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence; and a 2008 recipient of the VHA Leadership Award in Supply Chain Management. Good Samaritan Hospital also received Magnet designation in 2009.
Tickets are still available for the HIMSS11 Awards banquet; visit HIMSS Awards Banquet for more information and to order tickets.
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 70 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.cio-chime.org.
About HIMSS
HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations have offices in Chicago, Washington, DC, Brussels, Singapore, Leipzig, and other locations across the United States. HIMSS represents more than 30,000 individual members, of which two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 470 corporate members and more than 85 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, and research initiatives designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. Please visit our website at www.himss.org to learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause.
