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Bridgett Ojeda: (Intro) we must continue to be very diligent about ensuring that the AI tools are solving for a problem that we have.

Otherwise, we're just creating a disruption with no return.

I'm Sarah Richardson, a former CIO and president of this week Health's 2 2 9 community development where we are dedicated to transforming healthcare at one connection at a time.

Our keynote show is designed to share conference level value with you every week. Now let's jump into the episode (Main)

Sarah Richardson: Welcome to this week Health Keynote, where we engage with top healthcare leaders to explore the intersection of healthcare and technology.

As a technology leader, I think I could sum it up as we felt like we were minnows in a sharp tank because there were so many shiny new objects. So it became crucial for us to lean into our vetting processes to ensure we were getting. Technology that was solving a problem we had and that the vendor could deliver on those promises.

We also had this crucial priority of pivoting resources to increase our cyber protections. Another area that became a big change in shift for the IT healthcare leaders as well was our OPEX CapEx dollars had to drastically shift in a tight margin time periods because not only were we competing for traditional of keeping the lights on and the demand for enhancements, but now we all of a sudden had to account for.

I think lastly it was imperative that I tapped into my fellow CIO peers in the industry. At the end of the day, we were all solving for the same problems, and I have no shame in standing on the shoulders of others.

Sarah Richardson: Well, none of us do, and that's why we're part of 229, that ability to reach out and truly pick up the phone and ask for help when needed, or even just the peer advisory aspect of what we do.

Which brings you to my next question for you then, is how do you balance a need for innovation with the critical requirements of security, reliability, and compliance?

And so I think that this balance is essential, but each day it's crucial for us to have a solid IT governance structure led by our operational folks. However, we have this built-in oversight of our cybersecurity team and legal teams. This ensures that our innovation and initiatives align with security and compliance requirements.

So I think really having a good iterative innovation in a controlled environment has been Helpful for our strategic technology advancements. We have an innovation or incubator unit with a phenomenal nursing leader who's. Staff are the best when it comes to collaboration and willing to try new things.

The team is resilient and allowing us to make continuous incremental changes and run pilot programs. These really help us mitigate risk when implementing new technologies at the bedside. Something we haven't perfected in this area, but we are working on doing better at is security by design.

And then we also work very closely in concert with our technology vendors and partners to ensure that their solutions meet our security standards. We have clear expectations regarding data protection and how that data can be used. I will say that we have increased probably at a point in time of walking away from vendors during the contract phase.

Due to not being able to come to agreement on meeting our data standards, you really need to be willing to walk away and not compromise our integrity and not live out our mission of putting our patients first, which is. Keeping their data secure. And final thoughts on this? I feel very fortunate that I have very supportive colleagues who believe in fostering a culture that values innovation and security.

Sarah Richardson: Which is a hallmark really, of your success and some of the things that you're known for. I mean, you create action plans that are driven for software, hardware, network, your data.

And now I throw in the security element too. Is there a framework that you're using when developing standards, or are there just pieces you've brought together based on inputs from your colleagues at Bryant Health?

Bridgett Ojeda: So what's interesting about healthcare IT, and I should just say IT in general, there's so many standards for all steps in the software hardware lifecycle, and the key is not to be too rigid and adopt what makes sense for your organization.

So our IT mission statement at Bryan Health is one patient, one story, and one health system forward together. So we rally around this mission as we develop our standards and always keep the patient at the center of all the decision making when we're looking at our standards.

Sarah Richardson: Well, and it helps that you're probably a patient of your own healthcare system as well, so you get to be in the seat that you're also aiming to provide the best experiences for, ideally for wellness obviously.

But things happen in life too, and it's great when you can influence that within your own healthcare system. What have been some of the significant, I'd say digital because all the things we do now are digital. The transformation initiatives you've led at Bryan Health, how has it impacted patient care?

He felt that the interactions was more organic. The patient felt that the physician was more tentative, and overall it was just a better experience. So. I would say the most transformative of recent is definitely ambient listening for physicians.

Sarah Richardson: Ambient listening is getting traction with everyone we talk to and for all the right reasons.

That's literally the first thing since high tech. That has delivered promise for the physicians to feel like they're actually more efficient and spending more time with their patients. It's been an incredible conversation. I'm glad to hear it coming from you as well. 'cause that means that regardless of the solution that you're using, there's several out there that are very viable.

Bridgett Ojeda: I think our focus at Bryan Health, we must continue to be very diligent about ensuring that the AI tools that we are implementing are solving for a problem that we have.

Otherwise, we're just creating a disruption with no return. So it's also crucial not to lose sight of the digital transformation triangle or the people process and the technology when implementing AI. We can have the best AI tool, but if it's not designed for optimal workflows and usability, then it becomes just an.

I think that's really where I wanna see our AI tools move next.

Sarah Richardson: I love that you said that because, and this will date how long I've been doing this, but 20 years ago, give or take, people came to us asking us for solutions and we would put them in place. And ever since really the advent of some of the high tech requirements, it felt like technology was happening to people versus helping them solve some of the problems.

And to your point. We're at an apex now where we can deliver the solutions that get us back to the roots of why we ever got into this business in the first place. And that was to make things better, not to complicate them and try to unbundle some of the things that we had maybe inadvertently created through some of the other requirements we were endeavoring to meet.

So it's nice to be able to be in the business long enough to see it all come full circle. And you've got a unique challenge due to your mix of urban and rural populations. How does your IT strategy address your geographic and access disparities?

It's amazing to see that program and allowing that patient to stay in their home community rather than having to travel hours away and be away from their loved ones. And so our mission really is. To keep the patient in their home communities, in their home hospitals, and this program really has allowed us to do that.

Sarah Richardson: and with that, you're gonna have interoperability challenges for sure, because you might also have the other healthcare systems that are involved with where you are. How do you ensure that seamless data exchange for patients who are receiving care across multiple, I'd say cities, locations, providers, et cetera?

One way that we at Bryan are trying to close that gap is we have been approaching it through offering Epic community connect to our hospitals and clinics, which reduces the needs for that interoperability. I wish I had this amazing solution for this, but it is still a day-to-day challenge We face.

Sarah Richardson: You have a pager, a fax machine. I don't think a rotary phone's gonna help us in this scenario, but I'm like, what is the perfect escape room? The things that we still have in our universe today, and it's amazing that I still hear fax machines and pagers are in use in some facilities for sure. But that's not the most pressing issue facing you today, and you've got a great network of CIOs that you rely on and you call and work through ideas.

What do you see as the most pressing issue for healthcare CIOs today?

And then once you're part of the IT family. Where else can I grow and learn? So we're continuing to mature our IT mentoring program, a job shadow program, and really trying to come up with unique ways to retain and engage our workforce. the third and final stress point for CIOs is continuing to work on cybersecurity enterprise risk management plans to ensure we have adequate controls in place keeping, you know, the balance between end user security and convenience.

We must also continue to implement action plans around our SIS controls to strengthen our cybersecurity posture. So I believe of course finding the dollars for innovation, recruiting and cybersecurity right now are probably the three top stressors.

Bridgett Ojeda: This one might surprise you. I always share with people that healthcare, it is about 19 years behind, give or take the industry from advancements in technologies, and Over the last couple years, we started rolling out smartphones to nurses and replacing them, they had a hands-free communication badge.

Well, we thought these smartphones were giving them five additional features, and however, we quickly found out that hands free was the holy grail that we didn't take into account. So the nurses were not appreciative of having a smartphone that could do a lot more. And so this switch out was probably one of the, one of the biggest, I'll call it, failure points.

Sarah Richardson: I'm glad you shared that because when you don't have failures, I call 'em oopses moments where you're like, eh, nobody wants to use this technology. Or Hey, we put it in six months later, nobody's using it. If you don't have those experiences and figure out how to do better next time, I don't know how you get the chops that's required for the longevity in staying in some of these roles.

Bridgett Ojeda: It really starts first and foremost with hiring incredible managers who are invested in their team's success. It's crucial to ensure that we actively listen to our staff and have multi-channel feedback loops built in. It's important for us that we create a culture. Where gratitude is a priority and then having fun is also an important essential piece of that, but really ensuring that.

I know what's important to each of our staff, and that is done in multiple different ways from just being present and doing walkabouts with the staff, checking in on them. With every new hire to our IT division, I have a lunch with the new staff and it's important that I get to know every player on our team.

So we really try to promote a very collaborative culture that really helps staff belong. We also promote ongoing education and investment in our team members. We encourage our team to spend time with their customers so they can see how their work impacts the day to day in the lives of people we serve.

This also keeps our team members tied to our purpose as well.

Bridgett Ojeda: Forward Together really does ensure that we are invested in all of our stakeholders who are impacted by our day-to-day decisions. We are very methodical in our implementation strategies to ensure that our operations are in lock step with us. So from selecting the kickoff date to the Go live date, all the way to the closure and post implementation reviews forward together is where we really.

Need to lean into our governance structure to ensure that we have buy-in and IT initiatives are operationally led and it supported our stakeholders prioritize the projects and the work we do. And then we use our practical project management approaches to guide the work we have. A really thoughtful intake process.

IT in the customers we serve.

Sarah Richardson: Aren't you grateful that you're at a point and you've been in the organization long enough that you can say something like forward together? And it's simple and people understand it and they appreciate what it took to get to those two words. Because the longer that mission statement, the longer that idea, the less people are going to stick to it.

And so forward together is just such an obvious thing. But imagine how much it took for you to get there. So you volunteer at. For Make A Wish Foundation, how has this work influenced your approach to leadership?

energizes me to keep chipping away and improving on what we deliver. Getting invited into these families' homes when they're going through the darkest times, and yet being able to bring a moment of hope and compassion is such a gift. And it's really rewarding when I also hear, when they've interacted with technology that we put out there, and people always talk about their patient portal and getting easy access to the results or being able to schedule online.

So those moments of hearing the success stories of the technology always puts a smile on my face as well.

Bridgett Ojeda: I would start with. Be curious. Don't stop learning. The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, so stay up to date. I would say network actively join professional organizations, attend conferences. Building relationships opens doors to new opportunities, so get involved. And last but not least, I would say be adaptable.

Say yes to all the opportunities that come your way and have a servant attitude.

Sarah Richardson: Yeah. Someone asked you one time what was some of the key elements of your career and I said, I took jobs, nobody else wanted. And it worked. Yes. Like sometimes you're like, Hey, I do this. Like, oh, wow, I didn't even know that was a thing.

All right. We've asked all the tough questions. You ready for speed round? Love it. Yes. Bring it. Okay. You said you're a morning person, so is it coffee, tea, or are you just wired to start your day? Ready to go? I

Bridgett Ojeda: love coffee. I love the smell of coffee. Definitely coffee in the morning, but tea in the afternoon.

Sarah Richardson: Any particular kind? I mean, do you stay caffeinated throughout the day or is it like more of a wind down with tea in the afternoon?

Bridgett Ojeda: Wind down with tea in the afternoon.

Sarah Richardson: Okay, good to know. What is the most used app on your phone right now?

Bridgett Ojeda: Right now an app called Game Changer. I'm a baseball mom, so this is where I can stay up to date on my son's games, watch the games, and keep up on all the stats.

Sarah Richardson: I love that. Is it just for baseball or can that be used for multiple sports?

Bridgett Ojeda: They just started moving into other sports, like soccer, so we are now using it for soccer and baseball.

Sarah Richardson: Okay, good to know. I'm a baseball fan as well this time of year. Kate Gamble, who's on our team, she and I trade a lot of baseball notes throughout this time of year.

What would be the career that you would've chosen?

Bridgett Ojeda: I would say something still in the sciences, maybe like leading a research team. My love for curiosity and learning and leading teams, all of those get tapped into, and so I think perhaps leading a research team, but I love the smell of a library and the calming experience a library brings.

So maybe just stacking books at a library as well.

Sarah Richardson: So I'm gonna throw in a question that you and I didn't think about beforehand for speed round and favorite book you're reading, or I should say book you're reading now, or one of the favorites you've recently consumed. Doesn't have to be a workbook.

Always are always telling me about the workbooks. I'm like, yes. And what else do you love to read? I.

And so historical fiction is if I'm not reading something for work related or business related, it's historical fiction.

So you have to let me know what it is you've chosen. And then my last question for you, what's one technology you think that is totally overhyped or underappreciated?

Bridgett Ojeda: I would say overhyped. I was championing and cheering for augmented reality, and I really wanted it to be the end all, be all. It has some great use cases from a training and gaming standpoint.

So I'm a big digital payment system user.

Sarah Richardson: Do you go everywhere with your Apple Watch and pay? If it, if don't take ev apple Pay, you are kind of lost in the, like, what do you mean you don't take Apple Pay? Like I go most places without a credit card. I never have cash on me, and heck, half the time I don't even have id.

So I'm always grateful I know where I can use it. But you go someplace and they don't have it, and you have to ask sometimes before you go shopping. Otherwise, you're stuck there with a bag of goods you can't pay for. It's kind of embarrassing. Yes, less, less often, but it could still be a thing.

Thank you for being a part of our 2, 2 9 community, and I look forward to seeing you again in person soon. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Keynote with Bridgett Ojeda. That's all for now.

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