The Health Current Health IT Awards, presented by Mercy Care and now in its third year, recognized an outstanding individual and an outstanding organization at the 2018 Summit & Trade Show. Both awards were presented after the noon keynote presentation on Tuesday, December 4, 2018.
The Health IT Leader Award recognizes an outstanding leader in advancing healthcare through health information technology and health information exchange. The Health IT Innovation Award recognizes an organization for outstanding innovation and achievement in advancing healthcare through health information technology and health information exchange.
From the left, Jenn Sommers (Mercy Care), CAPT. Peter Vermilyea and Melissa Kotrys (Health Current)
Peter Vermilyea, Clinical Applications Coordinator and Captain in the United States Public Health Service from Winslow Indian Health Care Center (WIHCC) received the 2018 Health Current Health IT Leader Award. Captain Vermilyea has over 20-years of service with Indian Health Services (IHS) and was instrumental in the early adoption of health IT and health information exchange by WIHCC. He manages the advanced use of HIE and created a model for IHS facilities, setting up 10 active patient panels consisting of high-risk patients and patients with specific diagnosis types.
The 2018 Health IT Innovation Award was presented to Horizon Health and Wellness, based in Apache Junction. Dr. Fred Karst, Chief Operating Officer, accepted the award for Horizon Health and Wellness which operates 12 clinics throughout central and southern Arizona, serving a patient population of 12,000 with a staff of 600. They have been using Health Current data to improve service to high-needs populations, such as serious mental illness (SMI) patients, reducing hospital utilization among all target groups and reducing emergency department visits by more than 25 percent and inpatient visits by more than 50 percent. In addition, Horizon Health and Wellness sponsored an “Enhanced Alert” pilot that involves detailed, sorted Alerts integrated into their electronic health records (EHR) and clinical workflows.
From Horizon from left to right, Gustavo McGrew, Adrienne Howley, Karl Kleinebreil, Russ Wood, Dr. Fred Karst and Tim Haines
On the right is Melissa Kotrys (Health Current) and Jenn Sommers (Mercy Care)