There was plenty of bright Florida sunshine and conversation to go around at HIMSS19 in Orlando. Every year, we look forward to this opportunity to connect with our partners and health IT colleagues and learn about their top priorities for the year. HIMSS19 was no exception. It also gave many of us a welcomed break from the freezing February temps. While we had several highlights from the week, here are our top five HIMSS19 moments.
1. Catching up over a fresh catch at The Oceanaire Seafood Room
We kicked off HIMSS19 by hosting a reception for our industry partners and colleagues at The Oceanaire Seafood Room. We had a great time chatting over a delicious spread of fresh seafood and custom lime-infused cocktails. Thank you to all who attended. It was the perfect start to the week. In case you missed it, or want to reminisce on the evening, here are a few photos from the event.
2. Giving back to Orlando-area communities
At our HIMSS19 reception, guests could give back in a couple ways. They helped assemble 50 bags of baby products, which were donated to the Orlando Dream Center – Gentle Bottoms Program (more information on this great cause below). In addition to the giveback station, guests voted on a monetary giveback. Based on the voting results, Nordic will be contributing a donation to three local organizations:
Orlando Dream Center, which provides assistance to at-risk individuals and families. The organization’s mission is to “rebuild stories one life at a time” and move individuals toward self-sufficiency. Its Gentle Bottoms Program provides diapers, wipes, baby food, and cereal to families in need. Nordic team members visited the Orlando Dream Center and delivered the bags of baby products from our reception. It was a pleasure to meet the founder of this great organization and hear her inspirational story for launching the program over five years ago.
Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a private, nonprofit organization that collects, stores and distributes donated food to more than 550 feeding partners in six Central Florida counties: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia.
3. Connecting with partners and health IT colleagues at our booth
In addition to our reception, we shared good conversation with our partners and health IT colleagues on the HIMSS19 show floor. At our booth, healthcare leaders discussed some of their top challenges and priorities for the year. Many are looking at ways to optimize their EHRs and put their data to good use. They're hoping to continue to make strides with actionable AI and predictive analytics, as well as using data to inform their provider satisfaction initiatives.
We enjoyed sitting down and discussing these and other priorities with healthcare leaders at HIMSS19. If we didn’t have a chance to connect with you, or if you’re interested in continuing the discussion, please schedule a time to talk with us.
4. Playing Cards Against Health IT
We shared a lot of laughs with our partners and colleagues while playing Cards Against Health IT – a party game for health IT people. We developed this limited-edition game especially for HIMSS19, and it turned out to be pretty popular at our reception and on the show floor. Even post-HIMSS19, we’re hearing that groups have taken the game back to play in their break rooms, at team events, and even at family get-togethers. We’re so pleased that it was such a hit! With any luck, there’ll be a few games left in stock for our upcoming events in Madison. Be sure to stop by and play a round with us when you’re in town in April and August.
5. Raising awareness for the CHIME Opioid Task Force
During the CHIME CIO Forum at HIMSS19, Bruce Cerullo, Nordic CEO and new co-chair of the CHIME Opioid Task Force, continued to raise awareness and garner support for the group's mission. The task force is committed to leveraging CHIME’s unique membership of more than 2,700 healthcare leaders to take action to address the opioid crisis.
Bruce went on stage at the forum to make a plea for additional support. The task force hopes to raise $750,000 to fund the CHIME Opioid Health IT Action Center, a repository for healthcare organizations seeking resources and knowledge on systems and best practices to help stem the opioid crisis. For more information, or to donate, please visit the link below.
