Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Trailblazer, Theresa Meadows, Receives CIO Of The Year Award From CHIME
ANN ARBOR, MI, November 16, 2022 – In the 1990s, Theresa Meadows was tapped to teach a new system to physicians given her rapport with them, as a cardiac transplant and interventional cardiology nurse. That temporary role ignited a passion for health care IT that would lead her to the mainstage at the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Fall Forum conference to accept the award for CHIME 2023 CIO of the Year. The award is given annually to a CIO who has demonstrated significant leadership and a lifetime of achievement in the healthcare IT industry. The recipient is selected by the CIO of the Year Award committee comprised of past recipients and is approved by the Board of Directors of CHIME.
“When I looked at the list of the previous winners, I was humbled to see that over half of the names on that list have served as a mentor, role model, and supporter to me throughout my entire career,” said Meadows in her acceptance. “I cannot stress enough to emerging leaders the importance of finding strong mentors and participating in organizations like CHIME to build their professional networks. These networks have helped me grow in my career but also allowed me to give back to the industry.”
Theresa’s experience as a nurse gives her the unique ability to fluently speak both the language of health care and technology and to marry the two disciplines seamlessly. And that’s exactly what she has done for over 20+ years.
Some of the most endearing qualities exhibited by this barrier-breaker are her humility, confidence, influence, and presence. “Her very personal approach to leadership embodies the highest industry standards. She has distinguished herself through her contributions to the industry and to her organization,” said CHIME President and CEO, Russ Branzell.
Meadows’ experience prepared her to help lead the clinical response to the greatest challenge that healthcare has faced in a lifetime. When COVID-19 struck, her team helped physicians, nurses and other health providers see thousands of patients via virtual telemedicine visits. When the vaccine became available, they created a patient portal within days to support a massive drive-thru vaccination effort.
They also continued to move forward with projects unrelated to the pandemic but certainly challenged by it. Theresa and her team recently celebrated the 1-year anniversary of the opening of Peaks Tech Zone at Cook Children’s Pediatric Specialties – Prosper. The zone is believed to be a first-of-its-kind hybrid model that blends a technology lounge with an in-person help desk where guests can get one-on-one tech assistance from a health technology advocate.
Theresa has received a number of individual awards of her own, including being named Most Powerful Woman in Healthcare IT by Health Data Management from 2016 to 2019. She is a 2022 Dallas CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards finalist, named by The Dallas CIO Leadership Association. She has served as both Co-Chair for the HHS Cybersecurity Task Force and is a member of the Malcolm Baldridge Board of Overseers. Theresa currently serves as faculty for CHIME CIO Boot Camps, is a pace setter for designations such as Digital Health Most Wired, Best Hospital IT Departments, and Best Places to Work, which are only a sample of her accolades.
Most importantly, her colleagues describe her as “a beacon of possibility to those that have had the benefit of meeting her. Theresa’s willpower to keep going forward despite hurdles, dedication towards others over her own personal achievements, commitment to detailed and precise pursuit of improvement is all led by her personal humility. She is absolutely driven to see others succeed and is passionately devoted to the craft of the care and improvement of human life on multiple dimensions.”
Theresa has distinguished herself through her contributions to the industry and in her current position as Senior Vice President & CIO of Cook Children’s Health Care System, stands alongside her team at the cusp of the innovative approach to technology-enabled care and digital transformation.
“I am so incredibly grateful to the amazing colleagues and family that I have built through the digital health industry and here at CHIME,” said Meadows. “Thank you for supporting, challenging, and inspiring me at every step of the journey.”
About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs), chief innovation officers (CIOs), chief digital officers (CDOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 5,000 members in 58 countries plus two U.S. territories and over 190 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME and its three associations provide 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 care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
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Contact
Calli Dretke
Vice President & Chief Digital and Marketing Officer
CHIME
734.412.6255
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