Building a More Diverse Workforce with the Global Health Equity Network

Join Denise Hines, HIMSS Chief Americas Officer and change makers supporting underrepresented groups in discussing the launch of HIMSS Global Health Equity Network. The Network will address diversity, health equity & inclusion for underrepresented groups in health information and technology.

Learning Objectives:

Address how to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce
Recognize how a community can address barriers of access to health and wellness
Create an action plan in building a more equitable healthcare landscape

Denise Hines, DHA, PMP, FHIMSS

Chief Americas Officer
HIMSS

Bio info: Denise Hines is an award-winning, nationally recognized expert in healthcare technology. She has more than two...

Denise Hines is an award-winning, nationally recognized expert in healthcare technology. She has more than two decades of healthcare experience in a variety of settings—including health systems, physicians’ offices, home health, technology vendors, consulting, state government and revenue management.

In 2011, Hines founded eHealth Services Group, a health technology consulting firm focused on leading healthcare delivery transformation through technology. The firm was engaged in 2013 to operate Georgia’s state-designated health information exchange, Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN), with Hines providing insight and strategy as the nonprofit’s executive director. Before forming eHealth Services Group, Hines was vice president of government solutions at HealthNovation and consulted for both AT&T and the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Office of Health Information Technology.

Hines demonstrates extensive experience in the field of health IT, previously overseeing and managing the marketing and outreach recruitment of more than 5,200 healthcare providers and 56 critical access and rural hospitals, assisting these providers in meeting meaningful use requirements and qualifying for the CMS EHR incentive program.

Hines participated on Georgia’s HIE Strategic and Operational Plan writing team and served as the co-chair of the HIE Governance Committee. She successfully launched Georgia’s first comprehensive health information transparency and HIE website. She served as the first executive director for the Georgia Health Information Technology Advisory Board and created Georgia’s two-, five-, and 10-year strategic plans for health information technology. She also created and implemented the Georgia HIE Grants Awards Program that awarded $1,800,000 in grants in the first and second years.

Hines recently served as a member of the HIMSS Board of Directors and the Chair Emeritus for HIMSS North America Board of Directors. She is the past president of the HIMSS Georgia Chapter, which was named the 2012 HIMSS Chapter of the Year. Hines also received the 2012 HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year Award. In 2017, she was recognized with the prestigious Women of the Year in Technology – Small Enterprise Award from Georgia’s Women in Technology (WIT).

Hines holds her doctorate degree in healthcare administration where she focused her studies on the use of electronic personal health records and the impact on patient health. She also maintains certifications in project management, software development, and healthcare law. She is on the Board of Advisors for Georgia State University’s Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, as well as the Advisory Board for the College of Coastal Georgia. She is renowned for building service and results-oriented organizations with a passion for the widespread integration of technology and healthcare.

Iris Frye

Director
Optum Advisory Services

Bio info: Iris P. Frye, M.S., MBA, CPHIMS serves as a Director at Optum Advisory Services. Ms. Frye has spearheaded and...

Iris P. Frye, M.S., MBA, CPHIMS serves as a Director at Optum Advisory Services. Ms. Frye has spearheaded and implemented multiple initiatives to achieve health equity among our most at-risk populations through better use of data, provider engagement, and building conceptual frameworks. She has played an instrumental role in ensuring the health information technology industry’s top priority is decreasing health disparities in the community by utilizing innovative health technologies. Ms. Frye has a robust clinical, consulting, operations, and administrative healthcare background spanning over 20 years.

Currently, Iris Frye is a member of the HIMSS Government Relations Roundtable. She is also the co-founder and past chair of the HIMSS African-American SIG, now a community under the HIMSS Global Health Equity Network. Ms. Frye has served as a moderator and featured speaker on various discussion panels, roundtable sessions and conference events in healthcare technology.

Ms. Frye holds a M.S. in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Florida, a MBA in General Management from Stetson University, and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Northcentral University. Additionally, she maintains several certifications in the use of electronic health records, their security, development, and aligning IT services with the needs of the business.

Luis Belen

Chief Executive Officer
National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved

Anne Park

Sr. Business Systems Analyst
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Bio info: Anne Park, MPH, MSMIS, CPHQ, FHIMSS is a goal-driven performer specializing in organizational assessment and...

Anne Park, MPH, MSMIS, CPHQ, FHIMSS is a goal-driven performer specializing in organizational assessment and initiatives involving members of the executive team, physicians/clinicians, and department directors as a passionate change agent motivating others to improve performance outcomes and overall strategic leadership at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

In addition, Anne led initiatives that promoted an inclusive environment that actively values diversity among the employees as Chair of the Organization for Multicultural Employees Network and the member of Diversity Council for the institution. These included specific diversity initiatives in such areas as mentoring, coaching, and education by partnering with Office of Institutional Diversity and other Employee Networks.

Our Network’s overarching goals are to provide guidance on systems, culture and leadership practices that encourage effective diversity management as well as serve as the institution's governance body on institutional administrative policies and procedures with a diversity-focused considerations. With the strong collaboration to recognize diversity in its broadest and most inclusive sense for employees, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has been selected on the Forbes America's Best Employers List for the past two years.

Analogously, Anne actively participated in HIMSS at the national level as part of the Clinical and Business Intelligence Committee and the Chapter Task Force, as well as serving as a Conference Reviewer. At the local Houston Chapter level, Anne developed a strategic framework that promotes and maintains a wide range of volunteer opportunities and methods for committee formation since 2014. Anne also served in a leadership role in the Scholarship Selection Committee to create, promote, judge, and award HIMSS Houston Chapter scholarships by expanding the scholarship program and broadening the eligibility criteria. Currently, Anne is serving as the member of Global Conference Education Committee and Treasurer of HIMSS Houston Chapter.