Jamie Nelson, SVP & CIO, Hospital for Special Surgery, Chapter 1

Timing is everything. When the Hospital for Special Surgery was beginning its EHR selection process, Epic released its orthopedic module and announced plans to offer remote hosting. For a hospital that specializes in musculoskeletal health and is located in New York – a city where real estate is at a premium, the decision was easy. Selecting a vendor, however, is just the beginning. In this interview, CIO Jamie Nelson talks about the strategy she used to build an Epic team, why she believes education is the key to data security, and how HSS has made innovation part of its DNA. Nelson also discusses the “boardroom skills” necessary for CIOs, why work/life balance doesn’t truly exist, and the next big frontier for her organization.

Chapter 1



* About HSS

* Independent in a sea of giants — “Our long-term goal is to stay as we are.”

* Fortuitous timing with Epic

* The art of vendor selection — “There has to be a technical & cultural fit.”

* Staffing for a big project — “Always add more.”

* Adding resources for training

* CEO engagement — “That makes a big difference.”

* Pros of remote hosting



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Bold Statements

There has to be a technical fit and there has to be a cultural fit, and we felt that both were very strong with Epic. We’ve been extremely happy with the system, with the organization, and with what we’ve been able to accomplish here.

I would tell anybody looking to do the same thing to always add a little bit more, because we’ve found that once we implement Epic, the appetite for information and features increased. So we have since added more staff than we originally thought we needed.

We brought in some new resources because we knew IT was going to be on the hook for training. We also made sure that training was going to be funded by the organization in terms of backfill. You can’t expect a thousand floor nurses to come through training and for patient care not to suffer unless you have appropriate resources.

We were just as busy on day 1 of Epic as we were the day before. Our quality indicators were excellent. Our patient satisfaction remained extremely high. So we really had a phenomenal implementation for lots of different reasons, but having that business and clinical focused leadership involved was key.

Gamble:  Thanks so much, Jamie, for taking some time to speak with us today.

Nelson:  My pleasure.

Gamble:  Can you give an overview of Hospital for Special Surgery — where you’re located, bed size, things like that?

Nelson:  Sure. We are a specialty orthopedics hospital located in New York City. We’ve been doing this for 153 years now. Our mission is around the treatment, education, research, and innovation around musculoskeletal health. And we’re very proud for what we do. We are, once again, rated number one in the nation by US News & World Report for orthopedic surgery, and again, number two for rheumatology. It’s an organization that is really focused on a single mission, and that’s really an exciting place to be.

Gamble:  Right. And if you’re a big sports fan, like I am, you’re certainly familiar with the organization with all of the teams you’re affiliated with.

Nelson:  A lot of sports figures and athletes come through here. We have performing artist, dancers — all sorts of people for whom musculoskeletal health is important to their livelihood. And also people who just want to get back to doing what they need to do and love to do. It’s amazing how much a bad back or a hip doesn’t work anymore will impact quality of life.

Gamble:  Is the hospital is independent or do you have affiliations?

Nelson:  We are independent.

Gamble:  And that’s becoming more of a rare thing.

Nelson:  Yes,