Ann Arbor, MI, January 13, 2010- The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is proud to announce that the recipient of the 2009 John E. Gall Jr. CIO of the Year Award is William Spooner, FCHIME, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, Calif.
Spooner will receive the award at the annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta, Ga. on March 2, 2010.
"I am truly honored to be recognized in the same context as the industry leaders who have received the Gall Award over the past 20 years," said Spooner. "I am fortunate to work in an organization whose leadership values technology so highly in providing the highest quality patient care and patient service, and to have such a great IT team that makes me look good every day."
The award, co-sponsored by CHIME and HIMSS, 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.
Spooner has been with Sharp HealthCare since 1981 and has served as their CIO for the past 13 years. Spooner's aggressive IT effort has placed the organization on the Hospitals and Health Networks 100 Most Wired list for all 9 years since its inception. Responsible for information technology and telecommunications across Sharp HealthCare, Spooner oversees a department that manages the system-wide clinical, financial and administrative computer systems. He is currently leading Sharp's efforts to implement physician order entry, a key component of Sharp's patient safety initiative and the foundation for its emerging electronic medical record.
Spooner, an active contributor and leader of both CHIME and HIMSS, served as Chair of the CHIME Board in 2006 and Chair of the CHIME Foundation Board in 2007. He has been a frequent presenter at the HIMSS conference and is active in his local chapter. A fellow of CHIME, Spooner is also a member of the California Hospital Association Health Informatics and Technology Committee. Most recently, he has volunteered his time to the CHIME Education Foundation Leadership Circle, a group aimed at raising awareness and funds for the CHIME Education Foundation, which provides scholarships and continuing education funds to future and current CIOs.
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.
Contact:
Stephanie Fraser
Communications Coordinator, CHIME
734-665-0000
[email protected]