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10 Women Leaders in Health IT You Need to Know



Published on 5/22/2017

Of the 75 women recognized on Health Data Management's list of the 2017 Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT, 34 were health IT (HIT) executives working at provider organizations.

Everyone on this list deserves a hearty round of applause. We'd especially like to recognize 10 individuals who have made notable contributions within the industry. These hospital chief information officers (CIOs) and IT executives have overcome organizational barriers to improve processes, technology and patient outcomes at every step.

Mitzi Cardenas

Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Development and Performance Integration, Chief Information Officer at Truman Medical Centers

By strategically supporting both the business and clinical sides of Truman Medical Centers (TMC), Mitzi Cardenas has helped improve the outcomes of patients throughout the Kansas City area. Mitzi has been crucial to TMC's evolution since she joined in 2008, helping the organization achieve the Stage 7 designation of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model and the Stage 7 Ambulatory designation. Under her leadership, TMC has also earned six consecutive Healthcare's Most Wired designations from Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine.

Find out how Mitzi Cardenas worked with Cerner to advance patient safety through barcode technology.

Liz Devereux

Director, Enterprise Virtual Infrastructure at Banner Health

For more than five years, Liz Devereux has helped Banner Health improve its virtual infrastructure, supporting its goal to provide care from common to complex issues. Liz has overseen the implementation of scalable and flexible technologies that protect the data of populations across Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Nevada and California. In her current role, she helps manage the design and support of 29 hospitals in one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the United States.

Read Liz Devereux's thoughts on cloud storage after overseeing the construction of a 150TB storage grid for Banner Health.

Tina Esposito

Vice President, Center for Health Information Services at Advocate Health Care

As vice president of the Center for Health Information Services, Tina Esposito oversees the operational implementation of integration and utilization of Advocate's clinical and administrative data across inpatient, ambulatory, post-acute and physician-hospital organizations settings. Her work helps to improve Advocate Health Care's patient outcomes through organizational performance. In January 2016, Tina was featured on the cover of Health Data Management magazine as an "agent of change."

Discover how patient loyalty drives key consumer health decisions in this co-authored blog by Tina Esposito.

Donna Hart

Chief Information Officer at Cook County Health and Hospitals System

A 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserves, Donna Hart achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class before joining the Cook County Health & Hospitals System. Donna was also integral in launching the MyCookCountyHealth patient portal, designed to advance patient engagement. At HIMSS 2015, Donna earned a Health Information Technology Men & Women Award for her work in leveraging technology to enhance care.

Read more on Donna Hart's achievements, including her recognition as one of the industry's top health care IT executives.

Kyle Johnson

System Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems

As an expert in clinical informatics, Kyle Johnson has helped Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) reinvent itself as a nationally recognized model of excellence in health care. Kyle was integral in implementing technologies and integrated systems that support the organization's vision for the future. Before joining EMHS, Kyle spent 16 years at Trinity Health, the nation's second largest Catholic health care system.

Listen to Kyle Johnson speak on clinician engagement, successful ACOs and how to share services across an organization.

Liz Johnson

Chief Information Officer, Acute Care Hospitals and Applied Clinical Informatics at Tenet Healthcare

Liz Johnson is currently responsible for application support and strategic vision for more than 80 acute care hospitals in the Tenet Healthcare system. She oversees clinical and revenue management applications, as well as all of Tenet's clinical systems and meaningful use reporting systems. In 2014, Liz earned College of Healthcare Information Management Executives' (CHIME) Federal Public Policy Award for CIO Leadership. Liz currently serves on the newly elected CHIME Board Chair.

Read Liz Johnson's thoughts on how she uses data and analytics to improve patient outcomes, and why data's role is meaningful clinical improvement.

Kara Marx

Vice President, Information Services at Sharp Healthcare

Kara Marx maintains IT applications across all enterprises of Sharp HealthCare, a nonprofit health system with 17,000 employees that are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of patient-centered care. Kara teaches at the University of Southern California's Price School of Public Policy and serves on the KLAS Research Advisory Board. She is a Fellow of both HIMSS and American College of Healthcare Executives

Learn more about Kara Marx's career as a leader, a teacher and an innovator.

Donna Roach

Chief Information Officer at Via Christi Health

With more than three decades of health care experience, Donna Roach oversees the IT department for Via Christi Health, a 12-hospital system located in Kansas. Donna is a Fellow within HIMSS and has served as a member of the CHIME Board of Trustees since January 2016.

Listen to an interview with Donna Roach, where she discusses the increasing role of emotional intelligence in CIOs.

Dr. Terri Steinberg

Chief Health Information Officer and Vice President of Population Health Informatics at Christiana Care Health System

Terri Steinberg has been recognized by Health Data Management before, most recently for her efforts in implementing technology architecture platforms that support innovation within payment models. At Christiana Care Health System, she has used population health to drive value-based care for residents throughout Delaware. Terri also visits homebound patients as a practicing internist and geriatrician.

Read Dr. Terri Steinberg's Q&A with Healthcare IT News, where she presents medicine's future as one in which data, care coordination teams and evidence replace the notion of the heroic doctor.

Deanna Wise

Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer at Dignity Health

Since 2011, Deanna Wise has overseen Dignity Health's IT functions and was integral in the implementation of its new EHR software standard. Her presence has helped the organization bridge the gap between its facilities and community physicians. She has held the title of CIO at numerous other health systems and has worked in the information technology field for more than 22 years.

Deanna Wise was recently featured on The Cerner Podcast, where she considers the challenges and benefits of cloud computing.

Do you want more health IT insights? Download Perspectives, Cerner's thought leadership publication.