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The ɫ����Ƶis addressing the region’s need for health informatics specialists through a pilot initiative to create new models of education with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Health care is changing dramatically with physicians, hospitals and patients expecting decisions to be made on data, evidence and best practices. The challenge is turning the huge number of data points into meaningful information that can be used for improved outcomes. Health informatics professionals review the data sets to find trends and communicate results to guide those making decisions that affect the health of the people in our communities. 

ɫ����Ƶ President Danielle Ripich met with a group of key advisors that included chief executives and chief information officers from area hospital systems and health care companies to gain their perspective.

Joining her and others from ɫ����Ƶ were:

• Chris Claudio, CEO, Winxnet
• Todd Haedrich, vice president, Enrollment and Banking Services, Athena Health
• Chuck Hays, CEO, Maine General Health
• Ed Kane, vice president, Maine Operations, and Tariq Abu-Jaber, vice president, Healthcare Informatics, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
• Dan McCormack, CEO, InterMed
• David Wennberg, adjunct associate professor, Dartmouth Institute of Medicine; and CEO, Northern New England Accountable Care Collaborative

In addition, Eastern Maine Healthcare is participating in the project design.

Ripich noted, “ɫ����Ƶ has moved quickly to assess our current programs and design new offerings that will address the workforce shortage in health informatics and analytics identified by employers in the region.”

With the impetus of the Gates Foundation, the new educational program will be competency-based, meaning that learning can occur in the workplace, through technology and at a personalized rate.

“It is a whole new way of creating learning opportunities for students and employees, and I am excited that the ɫ����Ƶis connecting with industry leaders to make the curriculum relevant to today’s evolving health care sector,” commented McCormack.

Portland Mayor Michael Brennan stated, “ɫ����Ƶ’s innovative approaches to education in response to the needs of employers that want to create new jobs and expand are exactly what the Growing Portland Collaborative is all about.  Maine is fortunate to have such a dynamic private institution as part of its higher education portfolio.”