What Happened?
Milwaukee, WI-based Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin Retired Robert DeGrand as Chief Information Officer
About the Company
Froedtert Health combines with the Medical College of Wisconsin to form the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health care network — made up of Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls; St. Joseph`s Hospital, West Bend; and more than 30 primary and specialty care health centers and clinics. Joining the capabilities of an academic medical center affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert & the Medical College deliver highly coordinated, cost-effective health care to residents of southeastern Wisconsin and beyond.
About the Person
Bob DeGrand serves Froedtert Health as vice-president and chief information officer, a position he assumed in January 2009. In that role he is responsible for Information Technology (IT) strategic planning, implementation and maintenance at Froedtert, Community Memorial and St. Joseph’s Hospitals, and all associated clinics and administrative/support offices. More than 30 years of health care information systems experience coupled with IT work as a consultant for Froedtert Hospital beginning in 1997 positioned Bob well for this leadership position. His IT experience includes strategic information planning, project management, system selection, contract negotiations and customer support for a broad array of healthcare applications and models for clinics, hospitals and health systems throughout the country. As a consultant at Froedtert, Bob was actively involved in the Y2K changes, Affinity implementation, HIPAA changes and has played a major leadership role in the implementation of the Epic IT strategy. Through those assignments he became a valued and trusted member of the IT Team. In announcing Bob’s appointment, Bill Petasnick, president and CEO of Froedtert Health, described him as “a team player, a consensus builder and someone I completely trust.” Bob is enthusiastic about his work. “I was pleased to become a member of the Froedtert family because there is such consistency in each individual’s commitment to care for patients here. I experienced it in everyone with whom I interacted,” he explained. Bob welcomes the clear challenge to stay ahead of the curve with healthcare reform. He is focused on establishing IT as a full partner with the Froedtert & Community Health in a collaborative and strategic way that consistently aligns IT strategies with Froedtert Health business strategies. Over the years Bob has been active in a variety of healthcare professional organizations including the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). It is his work with HIMSS that reveals another side of Bob … Bob DeGrand, speaker, writer and author. Bob was and is a regular speaker at numerous industry conferences and health care provider meetings on a variety of topics, but it was a presentation at HIMSS conferences that led to his authoring a book that was published by HIMSS. The book, Strategic Buying, captures the health information technology acquisition concept and approach which Bob developed. That book was not his only literary venture. Bob is an avid writer outside of work as well. His work includes poetry and, as he describes, “multiple unfinished novels and movie scripts.” When he isn’t writing, Bob enjoys time with his wife, Grace, visiting his two adult children in California and keeping a watchful eye on all aspects of the political scene.
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