ANN ARBOR, Mich. and CHICAGO (January 26, 2012) – Rick Schooler, FCHIME, has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 John E. Gall Jr. CIO of the Year Award. Schooler is CIO and VP at Orlando Health, an integrated delivery system with a variety of healthcare providers in central Florida. Schooler will receive the award at the 2012 Annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas on Feb. 23, 2012.
The award, which recognizes lifetime achievement, is sponsored by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and HIMSS. The boards of directors for both organizations annually select the recipient of the award.
“It is truly a great honor to receive this year’s John E. Gall award, which I personally regard as the ultimate industry recognition for healthcare CIOs,” Schooler said. “Since leaving the telecommunications industry in 1991 to begin my healthcare career, I have had the great privilege of knowing and working with many of the former Gall award recipients. I can say with great admiration and gratitude that my joining this roster of professionals places me in very good company.”
The award recognizes health 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.
Schooler’s distinguished career in health IT spans 21 years at three different organizations – Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Central Georgia Health System and Orlando Health. In each role, he made significant accomplishments in the deployment of electronic health records and information technology in complex environments. Before his career in healthcare, he worked nine years for Ameritech, General Dynamics, and Computer Systems Corporation.
Rick Schooler has been a member of CHIME since 1994 and a member of HIMSS since 1992. He has a long history of significant contributions to both organizations. He is a CHIME Fellow who has served on the CHIME Board of Trustees and as chair of the CHIME Foundation. He has been active in CHIME’s advocacy initiatives, serving on the Advocacy Leadership Team and as an Advocacy State Coordinator.
As a senior member of HIMSS, he has served on the HIMSS Public Policy/Advocacy Committee and has been an active member of the Indiana and North Florida HIMSS chapters. Rick has also been a frequent attendee and presenter at local and national meetings of both organizations.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Regional Health Information Organization and recently served on the Board of Directors for the Health Care Center for the Homeless. He is also a member for the Industrial Advisory Board for the Purdue University College of Technology, the KLAS CIO Advisory Board, and the Healthcare Informatics Editorial Board.
“CIOs now enter a time that requires we understand the demands of healthcare’s present reality and future implications and that we demonstrate the ability to lead and provide information solutions of tangible value,” Schooler said. “Building upon the foundation of effective work-flow automation through EMRs and source data capture, the incessant need for information integration, exchange and analytics throughout the continuum of care will only grow.
“I’ve been fortunate to see nearly the entire spectrum of computing evolve since I began my career as a computer operator in 1978 while attending college as a pre-med major,” he added. “Although it’s been said before by others, I will say it again… there has never been a better time to be a healthcare CIO!”
Tickets are still available for the HIMSS12 Awards banquet; visit the registration page or call 866.229.2386 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, 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 are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents more than 38,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 540 corporate members and more than 120 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, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS, visit the website at www.himss.org.
