Podcast Interview with CIO James Wellman, Part 2: “You Can’t Hide from This.”

During a time as challenging as the one in which healthcare finds itself, agile isn’t a buzzword. It’s a means of survival. And as leaders face an onslaught of hurdles — some of which are constantly changing — the COVID-19 pandemic is “shining a light” on those who aren’t willing or able to respond, said James Wellman, CIO at Blanchard Valley Health System. “You can’t hide from this. If you’re not able to adapt, we’re going to see some fallout.”

Wellman is no stranger to adapting, have just joined the organization — and become its first administrative-level CIO — in July of last year. In a recent interview, he talked about the strategy he used to adjust to the role and gain the trust of his team; an approach that paid off when disaster struck a few weeks ago. He also discusses how they’re leveraging tools like Zoom and TEAMS to support the growing remote workforce, and most importantly, how they’re enabling providers to deliver care.

Part 1

Part 2



* Video communications through Teams & Zoom

* Cybersecurity diligence: “We’ve not let our guard down.”

* Best practice sharing across the industry – “It’s a fantastic resource.”

* Value of “honest feedback”

* Dealing with timeouts & system lockouts

* Agility during a crisis: “If you’re not able to adapt, we’re going to see some fallout.”

* New dashboard to track COVID cases, ventilators, beds

* Leading in a crisis – “I get the heck out of the way and let them do what they need to do.”



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Bold Statements

We’re doing our due diligence with cybersecurity. We’ve not let down our guard in that arena. In fact, we’re looking at expanding that.

When you’re able to share up ideas with some of these people, it’s a fantastic resource. You’re getting honest feedback, which is imperative because sometimes we don’t have the luxury of six months’ worth of analysis. We need to move quickly.

In any industry and any position, you have people who can hide. This is shining light on that. You can’t hide from this. And if you’re not able to adapt, I think we’re going to see some fallout.

I just get the heck out of the way and let them do what they need to do. They’re a smart group; they don’t need to ask me for permission. You know how to do it; go do it. Fortunately, that’s the culture and environment we have here.

Gamble:  You have some people working from home. What’s the new strategy there just as far as enabling this increased remote workforce?

Wellman:  We’re an Office 365 customer, so that helps, and we have protected VPN back into the organization for specific users. We have a OneDrive business version that allows some remote sharing of things we’re doing. We’ve used Microsoft Teams primarily for our internal video meetings.

As we’ve started to get our hands around some of these technologies, I’ve been encouraging my team to use video. I’ve told them, ‘we might be separated from each other for months, so use the video option to create a sense of normalcy. See your friends and your colleagues and interact with them.’

Teams has been solid there. Our medical staff uses it for their weekly briefings. We use it for multiple briefings each week at predetermined times. And when people ask questions, we know who’s on the call.