Debe Gash named to Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leader list
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Feb. 21, 2011) — Debe Gash, vice president and chief information officer for Saint Luke’s Health System, has been named an IDG Computerworld 2011 Premier 100 IT Leader.
This year’s Premier 100 spotlights 100 award leaders from both the technology and business sides of companies for their exceptional technology leadership, innovative ideas to business challenges and effectively managed information technology strategies.
“The Premier 100 awards program honors an elite group of IT executives,” said Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. “In the face of the past few years of economic turmoil that for many meant budget cuts and staff downsizing, these 100 men and women continued to innovate and deliver measurable business value. They begin 2011 recharged and ready, positioning their departments and their businesses for speed and growth. We’re pleased to honor the achievements of these 100 men and women who deliver strategic vision and seamless leadership through turbulent times.”
Gash joined Saint Luke’s Health System in 1994 and was named CIO in 2006. She is responsible for developing and implementing information technology strategies; updating standards, infrastructure and security policies; ensuring quality IT support and providing guidance in cost effective clinical and business solutions for the health system.
Major initiatives Gash oversees include RelayHealth at Saint Luke’s, a health information exchange connecting 338 doctors with their patients and each other. Since its inception in 2007, Saint Luke’s RelayHealth has processed more than 2.6 million transactions such as lab and radiology reports and transcribed documents, demonstrating significant hospital and physician collaboration and care coordination. Continuing to build on its success, Saint Luke’s Health System is leveraging RelayHealth to implement its vision of a community-wide electronic health record (EHR).
Gash also oversees information technology support for centralized telemetry where 250 patients are monitored at multiple sites; home care monitoring; centralized patient monitoring for 105 ICU beds; telemedicine clinics that deliver care in underserved areas; tele-radiology; an electronic pharmacy program to manage and respond to medication orders in remote locations; and telemedicine visits.
Gash holds a bachelor’s degree in health service management from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She holds certifications as a Healthcare CIO, Professional in Health Information and Management Systems and as a Medical Practice Executive.
The Premier 100 awards ceremony will be one of the highlights of Computerworld’s annual Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, being held March 6-8, 2011, at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, Calif. The Conference, to be attended by more than 375 influential senior IT managers, will showcase honorees and other IT innovators as they discuss how to create competitive IT organizations. (More information available at http://www.premier100.com.)
About the Premier 100
The Premier 100 was first created in 2000 to spotlight individuals who have had a positive impact on their organization through technology. These are individuals who manage internal IT organizations, mentor and motivate their IT teams and business colleagues, create a positive work environment, envision innovative solutions to business challenges and effectively manage and execute IT strategies. Each year nominees are invited to complete a survey that addresses a number of topics, including their background and experience and their attitude toward risk and innovation. Using Computerworld’s IT Leader Index and using the data from the index, which is a measurement of how closely an individual matches our definition of the IT Leader, we analyze the data. Each year, 100 honorees are selected to receive this life-time recognition award.