Q&A with CIO Jim Daly, Part 2: “I Can’t Think of a Time When We’ve Had This Much Disruption.”

A little trepidation isn’t such a bad thing.

In fact, Jim Daly believes it can be quite beneficial, when channeled properly. “Being scared can be good. It lights a fire under you to absorb and ask a lot of questions,” he said during a recent conversation with healthsystemCIO.

Daly speaks from experience, having stepped into the role of CIO at Washington Regional Medical System in July of 2020, smack in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. On top of that, he had only been with the organization — and the provider world, for that matter — for three years, having spent the previous decade on the payer side.

Those three years, however, helped prepare him for the position, largely due to the mentoring he received from Becky Magee, who retired this past summer after 20 years with the organization. “She really invested in me and helped me learn and grow,” noted Daly, who hopes to provide the same career growth opportunities for others.

During the interview, Daly talked about the biggest challenges he has faced since taking on the CIO post, his thoughts on what it takes to manage change successfully, and how his prior career experience has helped shape him as a leader. He also discusses the organization’s core objectives, including migrating to a single platform to create a “true longitudinal record,” and their plans to “refresh” the IT strategy.

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Key Takeaways



* One of WRMS’ key initiatives is creating a patient engagement platform that “allows us to provide efficiency with appointment reminders, and provide online scheduling and the capability to execute on population health.”

* With an IT strategic plan, the challenge comes in building a roadmap knowing it can change — and ensuring the organization can respond.

* Although the role at WRMS was a great opportunity, accepting it wasn’t an easy decision. “I had to be convinced that I could be successful moving to the provider side.”

* One of the most important lessons learned during the pandemic? The need to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” and be willing to adapt.

* Competition for IT talent is only going to get more intense, which means leaders must provide “growth and career opportunities that help staff to be engaged and excited about the work they do.”



Q&A with Jim Daly, Part 2 [Click here to view Part 1]

Gamble:  We talk with a lot of CIOs about change management. It’s never easy, but in these circumstances, it seems like there are added pressures, which makes it even more urgent to check in with people and make sure they’re okay.

Daly:  Yes. It’s also trying to create an environment where people can be heard. You mentioned change management — that’s something that’s so important, but it gets overlooked in many cases. I’ve been in the workforce at a professional level for over 25 years, and I can’t think of a time in my career where we’ve had this much disruption in our professional lives as well as our personal lives.

Typically, when you’re undergoing a change management effort, there are some elements of outside influences, but it’s usually isolated to the work environment. But this time, it’s impacting not just the work we’re doing, but also the locations in which we’re performing the work, and the style with which we interact. Some people love to be in the office and see each other every day, and now they’re being separated and having to ...